Dungbombs, Drinking and Dragons
by S.Z.Raff
Summary: Charlie Weasley's story. From his first day at Hogwarts to the end of Deathly Hallows. This is the story of the most neglected of the Weasley Clan.
1. The Journey Begins

_**Author's Note: Charlie is obviously J.K. Rowling's character, as is this entire world that I'm writing about. Similarities in some parts with the Harry Potter books (as I've had a review on the subject) are usually coincidence as I'm not using the books as a direct reference for this story because Charlie rarely features in them. I've read the books so many times and can only put it down to how often I've read them that some parts have sunk into my brain. I'll try and avoid it though.**_

_**Essentially - If you recognise it, it's not mine.**_

_**LittleGuitar94**_

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><p><strong><em>1<em>_st__ September, 1984_**

Charlie Weasley was eleven years old and jumping up and down with excitement as he stood on Platform 9 ¾, grinning from ear to ear. His father, Arthur, helped him steer the trolley loaded up with his trunk towards the gleaming and steaming Hogwarts Express. Behind them followed Charlie's mother, Molly, and the younger Weasley children not yet old enough to attend Hogwarts. Percy, seven years old, was trying to act mature and confident as he held the hand of his youngest brother Ron, three years old. Percy didn't want to look after Ron, but his mother had asked him to because she had to keep an eye on the two five year old twins, Fred and George, while also taking care of two year old little Ginny. And Percy, being the good son that he was, obliged.

Bill was already on the train. Two years Charlie's senior, Bill was a third year Gryffindor and had been teasing Charlie about being Sorted into Hufflepuff ever since he had returned from his very first year at Hogwarts.

'Come on Charlie!' Bill called from the window of a carriage.

Charlie looked earnestly up at his father.

'Go on son, I'll finish getting these on.' Charlie gave his Dad a big hug and a toothy smile before running to say goodbye to his Mum and siblings.

'Now you be good, you hear me Charlie?' Molly fussed.

'I will Mum, don't worry!' She enveloped him in her trademark rib-crushing hug until he wheezed that he couldn't breathe.

'Oh Charlie!' she stroked his bright red hair and he could see she was going to start crying soon. Now _that_ would be embarrassing. He ducked away from her and was saying goodbye to his siblings when Arthur rejoined them.

'See you Perce, just hang on another four years, you too Ron, but a bit longer.' He ruffled Ron's hair, earning himself a wide smile full of missing teeth. Percy offered his hand for Charlie to shake. Charlie ignored it and pulled him into a brotherly hug. He high-fived Fred and George's tiny little hands and gave Ginny a kiss on the forehead before he finally joined Bill on the train.

It was two minutes to eleven and Charlie couldn't wait to be away. He made his way down the train searching for Bill's compartment. Bill's two best friends, Myron Wagtail and Kirley McCormack were sharing his compartment. Myron was a lanky boy with shaggy brown hair who offered Charlie a chocolate frog. Charlie willingly accepted the sugary amphibian. Kirley however, was a pale boy with dark shoulder-length hair who rarely spoke.

A whistle blew, warning parents to get off the train and kids to get on. Charlie, Bill, Myron and Kirley leaned out of the window to wave goodbye to their families.

'Bye Bill! Bye Charlie!' the Weasley clan chorused over the growing noise of the train's engines.

'Bye!' they called back, waving as the train begun to chug off towards Hogsmeade Station, still waving as the vivid red hair of the Weasleys vanished around the corner and Kings Cross station was lost behind them.

* * *

><p>Charles Septimus Weasley was the second eldest of seven children, all of whom had the same fiery red hair. He was shorter and stockier than Bill, who was tall and lanky. Dressed in some plain denim jeans and a yellow t-shirt picked out by his mother, Charlie had the cheerful, healthy glow of a well-fed and excited boy. His blue eyes were bright and eager as he looked for an empty train compartment. He had promised Bill earlier that morning that he wouldn't hang around his big brother all day.<p>

'Hey, can I sit here?' Charlie poked his head around the door of one relatively empty compartment. In it sat two first years, a boy and a girl. The boy was quite skinny with a full head of shaggy blond hair. He was quite obviously muggle-born in some tight, worn-out jeans and a cut-off denim jacket over a t-shirt that read 'IRON MAIDEN' that had a picture of an Inferi and a red pixie on it. The girl was also pretty unusual, she was quite similarly dressed in ripped skinny jeans and a leather jacket over a bright yellow t-shirt advertising 'THE SEX PISTOLS' in the same colour pink as her hair. Charlie wondered if the two were related.

The pink-haired girl gave Charlie a wide smile, 'Sure, come on in!' The boy shuffled over and Charlie took the seat next to him.

'I'm Charlie Weasley,' he said, by way of introduction.

'Tonks,' said the pink-haired girl.

'Don Tremlett,' was the blonde boy. Charlie guessed that they weren't related then.

'So is Tonks your last name or what?' Charlie asked the girl.

'Last name, and no, I'm not going to tell you my first name. Just call me Tonks, I hate my first name.' she said it with a note of finality that Charlie decided he wasn't going to press the matter.

Don looked curiously at Charlie. 'So are you, um, I'm not sure what the word is…' he looked at Tonks, 'like me?'

'He means are you muggle-born?' she translated.

'No, both my parents are magical.'

'Same here,' said Tonks, 'but my Dad's muggle-born, Mum got disowned for marrying him.'

'Why?' Don looked confused, 'why should that matter?'

'That side of my family is pretty insane; they're all pure-bloods and they only marry other wizards or witches. They seem to think it's sinful or something to marry a half-blood or muggle-born.' Tonks shrugged. 'Complete rubbish of course.'

Neither Charlie nor Don knew quite what to say.

'Well this is a bit depressing.' Tonks piped up after a moment. 'So Charlie, cool hair! Is it all natural?'

'Uh,' Charlie glanced up at the tuft of vivid fringe he could see, 'yep, all natural.'

'Wicked!' She screwed up her face and suddenly her pink hair turned auburn, the exact colour of Charlie's hair.

'Wow!' Charlie and Don both gasped. 'How'd you do that? That's brilliant!' they chorused.

Tonks grinned, 'I'm a metamorphmagus.' She said as if that would explain anything.

'A meta-what-ma-what?' Charlie looked as stumped as Don.

'It means I can change my appearance at will.' She scrunched up her face again and her hair was just like Don's.

'That is so cool!'

For the next half an hour Tonks took requests changing her appearance until the sweet trolley came around, after which they spent a great deal of time feasting on Liquorice Wands and Chocolate Frogs. Charlie and Tonks introduced Don to Drooble's Best-Blowing Bubblegum. They even played a game with Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans where they all took one and even if it tasted disgusting they had to keep a straight face. A moody seventh year came by and told them to be quiet because they were laughing so much.

As evening began to fall outside the window the driver announced that they would soon be arriving into Hogsmeade station so they'd better get into their robes. Charlie and Don stood outside while Tonks got changed.

Back in the compartment Charlie was getting really excited. He would be at Hogwarts soon! He'd been waiting for this day since Bill got his letter two years ago and he could tell that Tonks and Don were excited too: Tonks' hair kept changing colour every few minutes without her realising.

'So what house do you think you'll be in?' Tonks asked, picking at the hem of her black Hogwarts skirt.

'Gryffindor,' Charlie declared. 'All my family have been. Mum, Dad, brother, uncles, grandparents. All of them.'

'I don't know,' Don fretted. 'I read in a book that Gryffindors are meant to be brave, and Ravenclaws smart and Hufflepuffs hard-working and Slytherins ambitious, but I don't think I'm any of those. Before I got my Hogwarts letter I just wanted to be a bassist in a rock band, I had lessons and everything.'

'Don't worry,' Tonks comforted, 'I don't know where I'll end up either. Dad was a Hufflepuff and Mum was a Slytherin, so Merlin knows where I'll be! Ooh! We're here!'

The brakes squealed as the train pulled into a dark station lit by flaming torches along the walls. The overhead speaker hissed.

'We have arrived at Hogsmeade Station.' The conductor announced. 'Please leave all of your luggage on the train; it will be taken separately up to the school. Thank you, see you next summer.'

Prefects in black Hogwarts robes lined the exits of the train, ordering the stampede of children to stop pushing, and directing first years over to the left of the platform and the rest of the school somewhere else.

'Firs' years! Firs' years!' called a loud voice. Charlie, Tonks and Don jostled their way over to it and Charlie's jaw dropped.

The owner of the voice was massive. Charlie knew he couldn't be a giant, he was too small, and that's the only time this man could ever be considered small. He was about twice the height of an average man and three times as wide. In one of his huge dustbin-lid sized hands he held a lantern, and in the other, a pink umbrella. His face was covered in a great bushy beard and his black eyes glittered in the lamp light.

'Firs' years over 'ere!' he called.

When all the first years were gathered around him he warned them all to mind their step and set off into the darkness, leaving them to follow the lantern light. They headed down a steep narrow path, trying not to slip on the slightly damp ground. Several times Charlie found his cloak being suddenly yanked from behind, but it was only Tonks trying to save herself from falling over. She had confessed on the train that she was really clumsy, so clumsy in fact, that many of the Healers in St Mungo's treated her as a regular customer.

'Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec,' the giant called behind him, 'jus' round this corner.'

'Ooooooh!'

'Wow,' whispered Tonks from just behind Charlie.

'It's beautiful,' murmured Don.

'It's Hogwarts.' Charlie grinned, excitement shining in his eyes.

There was a fleet of small boats on the great black lake in front of them, reflecting the golden lights of the castle windows as Hogwarts stood solidly atop the huge mountain on the other side of the lake.

'Four to a boat!' the giant called, as he settled into one on his own. The first years scrambled forward and Charlie ended up in a boat with Don, Tonks and a brunette girl called Annie.

'FORWARD!' the giant called after checking that everyone was in a boat. The little fleet began to move together at once, gliding smoothly across the lake. The first years stared in awe at the castle which loomed ever closer above them.

'Heads down!' the giant warned as the first boats approached the cliff. The boats carried them through a wall of ivy and down a tunnel which took them under the castle until they reached a small jetty. They clambered out of the boats and back onto land.

The giant led them across a lawn of damp grass, up a small flight of stone steps to a large oak front door. He turned to check that everyone was there before knocking three times on the castle door.


	2. Hogwarts

The doors swung inwards to reveal a tall, emerald-robed witch with glasses and a stern expression.

'The firs' years Professor McGonagall,' said the giant.

'Thank you Hagrid, I shall take them from here,' the witch had a Scottish accent. Charlie remembered Bill talking with Mum and Dad about Professor McGonagall, the Transfiguration teacher and Head of Gryffindor House.

Hagrid made his way past the professor and through another set of double doors on the other side of the Entrance Hall where Charlie assumed that the rest of the school was already seated, waiting for them. His stomach turned at the thought. With a loud thud the doors closed behind Hagrid and the noisy chatter beyond was reduced to a dull murmur.

Professor McGonagall, in the meantime, had been eyeing the crowd of first years carefully.

'Follow me,' she ordered, turning on her heel and striding across the worn stone floor to an empty side-chamber. As ordered, the first years nervously filed in after her. The chamber was lit by flaming torches that gave the stone walls an orange glow, it made Charlie think that they were standing in the belly of a dragon. McGonagall scrutinised the stragglers as they entered and, once they were all in, she began to speak.

'Welcome to Hogwarts. The start of term banquet will begin in the Great Hall soon, but first you need to be sorted into your Houses. These are: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. The Sorting Ceremony is very important. While at Hogwarts, your house will be like your family - you will learn in class with the rest of your house, sleep with the rest of your house in the dormitories, and spend your free-time with the rest of your house in your common-room.' She cast a look over their anxious faces.

'Each house has its own great history and has produced several witches and wizards of note. While at Hogwarts your triumphs will earn you house points, while rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of each year, the house with the most points wins the House Cup; this is a great honour for the house. I hope that each of you do your house proud and help to win the cup.

'The Sorting Ceremony will take place shortly in front of the rest of the school. I advise that you all make yourselves as presentable as possible while you wait.' She shot a glare at Tonks' currently lime green hair. 'I shall return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly.' With another turn on her heel she swept out of the room and left the first years on their own.

'So, um, when she says "The Sorting Ceremony" she, uh, what does she mean?' Don's voice trembled as he sought an answer from either Charlie or Tonks.

'It's just trying on a hat, I think,' Charlie tried to sound reassuring, but was actually feeling as green as Tonks' hair.

'You think?'

'Uh, my brother sort of joked about having to duel a Sphinx, but I'm pretty sure he was joking,' He smiled weakly at Don who only whimpered in return. A tall, lanky boy with mousy hair retched loudly in the corner.

'How you doing Tonks?' Charlie asked, she hadn't said anything since they had reached the castle.

'Mmm doin' alright,' she managed. Her eyes were closed and she looked like she was in pain. Her hair was shifting between a chocolate brown and a shocking fuchsia. 'Just trying to relax and stop my hair morphing.

Charlie nodded, silently thankful that the bright shade of orange hair he was born with stayed that colour.

Professor McGonagall returned soon after and led them into the Great Hall. Charlie could feel his pulse in his throat as he walked behind a stocky black-haired boy.

McGonagall led them past the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables to a three-legged stool with a rag on top, in the middle of the Hall in front of the Headmaster's chair. Professor Dumbledore was smiling serenely at the first years, his silver beard and hair shining in the candlelight. Charlie managed to spot Bill on the Gryffindor table and felt better for the thumbs up he received. Kirley was sitting next to him gazing up at the ceiling.

Charlie followed his gaze and gasped. The ceiling didn't exist, or so it seemed. It just opened up to the currently clear, dark and starry heavens. Charlie nudged Tonks and Don, and pointed.

'Woah,' they both murmured in amazement.

Professor McGonagall stopped them in front of the stool where they saw that what Charlie had taken to be a rag was, in fact, a patched and frayed Wizard's hat. The entire Hall fell silent and stared in anticipation at the hat.

'What are we meant to be looking at?' whispered Don, not understanding the significance of the ancient headgear.

Charlie shushed him and a moment later a rip near the brim of the hat opened like a mouth and proceeded to recite in a reedy voice:

**'_Another year has come around,_**

**_Another Year to sort._**

**_So here I am, duty bound,_**

**_To root around your thoughts._**

**_There was a time_**

**_When Founders Four,_**

**_Had to draw a line._**

**"_Who should we let within our walls?"_**

**_Bold Gryffindor, he asked._**

**_Only the best, inside these halls,_**

**_Would Ravenclaw let past._**

**_The ambitious and the pure of blood,_**

**_Sly Slytherin would greet._**

**_The conscientious and the good, _**

**_Dear Hufflepuff would meet._**

**_But how to decide_**

**_They could not agree_**

**_No matter how they tried._**

**'_Till Gryffindor, from off his head,_**

**_Swept no other but me!_**

**"_This hat shall Sort, in our stead"_**

**_He shouted out in glee._**

**_The other three _**

**_At once agreed_**

**_And so I came to be!_**

**_I am the Hogwarts Sorting Hat,_**

**_Since then and still today._**

**_Upon this stool you will be sat,_**

**_Until I do but say._**

**_The House I choose,_**

**_To win, or lose,_**

**_It is the House for you!'_**

The Hall erupted in cheers and the hat bowed to each of the four tables before becoming still again.

'What the bloody hell was that?' Don hissed as Professor McGonagall unfurled a scroll of parchment.

'When I call your name, you will be seated, put on the hat, and wait to be Sorted,' Professor McGonagall told the first years. 'Almeidus, Rosalind!'

A small, auburn-haired girl stepped forward and placed the hat on her head. It fell right over her eyes.

'GRYFFINDOR!' The hat roared and the table on the far left cheered loudly.

'Oh no,' said Tonks' voice by Charlie's ear as Amerinus, Martin approached the stool, 'they're going to say my first name in front of _everyone_.'

'C'mon, it can't be _that_ bad,' Charlie reasoned as Martin headed off to the Ravenclaw table.

'You haven't heard it yet.' Tonks grumbled as they clapped politely along with everyone else.

'Anders, Violetta' went to Slytherin and the table on the far right applauded. 'Carneirus, Matthew' joined Hufflepuff a minute later. Charlie spotted Myron whooping as Matthew sat down. 'Cattermole, Reginald', 'Cooper, Buckley', 'Elkins, Elveira' and 'Finnegan, Fergus' all went to Gryffindor, with 'Fenetre, Alice' breaking the streak to go to Ravenclaw.

'Gibbon' and 'Gumboil' went to Slytherin and Ravenclaw respectively, with 'Hicks' heading to Hufflepuff. 'Ishmael, Julia', a blonde girl behind Tonks, went to Gryffindor, followed by twins Robin and Oliver James going to Hufflepuff. 'Kruz, Anna' barged past to get to Slytherin.

There were just over ten left to be Sorted by the time 'Limus', 'Lynch', 'Philpott' and 'Pye' left the line to join their tables, with Charlie, Tonks and Don still waiting.

The broad-shouldered blond 'Rowle, Thorfinn' stepped confidently up to the stool and was proclaimed 'SLYTHERIN!' almost immediately. 'Scabior, William', a dark haired boy also followed Rowle to Slytherin. 'Shunpike, Stanley,' sat for nearly a whole minute on the stool before being finally pronounced Slytherin too.

Annie Stark, the girl Charlie had shared a boat with, went to Gryffindor, greeted by yet another round of applause. 'Storm' and 'Tarrick' went to Ravenclaw, then finally –

'Tonks, Nymphadora!' Tonks' hair flared red and so did her cheeks as a few sniggers broke out among the nearest spectators. Charlie could see the intense concentration on her face as she struggled to both keep her balance and stop her hair going crazy. She reached the stool and jammed the hat on her head. She remained there for a moment before the hat bellowed 'HUFFLEPUFF!' and her hair turned bright pink.

As Tonks beamed at him from the Hufflepuff table, oblivious to the shocked stares attracted by her violently coloured hair, Charlie considered for the first time the possibility of not being in Gryffindor.

'Tremlett, Donaghan', McGonagall called. Charlie whispered a quick 'good luck' to Don as he stepped from the crowd of five remaining first years and approached the stool. He looked positively ghostly as the hat fell past his eyes. 'HUFFLEPUFF!' The hat declared, and Charlie watched with a hint of envy as Don received a welcome hug from Tonks and a pat on the back from some older Hufflepuffs. Myron was doing an odd celebratory jig.

At last McGonagall called, 'Weasley, Charles!' and the next thing he knew, the darkness of the inside of the hat was all Charlie could see.

'Ahh,' said a small voice in his ear, 'another Weasley. Well, I know exactly where to put you. But you don't know where to put yourself, do you? Let me tell you, Hufflepuff is not where you belong. The only place for you is GRYFFINDOR!' The hat roared the last word to the rest of the hall.

Somewhat relieved that the choice was made Charlie headed to the Gryffindor table, passing Tonks and Don who cheered loudly, eventually settling into a space beside Fergus Finnegan.

Once 'Williamson' and 'Zolinski' were both Sorted McGonagall rolled up her parchment and took the Sorting Hat away.

Charlie's stomach grumbled loudly and he realised he hadn't eaten the corned beef sandwiches his Mum had made for him earlier.

The Hall fell into a respectful silence as Albus Dumbledore, the famed Headmaster of Hogwarts, stood up and smiled happily out at his students.

'Welcome to another year,' he said, 'and welcome to a _new_ year at Hogwarts. There are some notices that need to be given, but now is not the time. Now is the time for eating. So, without further ado, dig in!' With a flourish, Dumbledore spread his arms wide and the golden plates across the Hall were suddenly filled with delicious foods. Charlie's mouth watered as he piled chicken, bacon, sausages and potatoes onto his plate.

'I love this place,' he murmured, obeying Dumbledore's orders to dig in.

Sat down at the Gryffindor table, Charlie felt utterly at home. He ploughed through his favourite foods and talked with his fellow first years.

'Aye, both me Mam and me Dad have magic,' Fergus Finnegan, the green-eyed Irishman was telling them, 'and me Mam's Muggle-born. But me cousin Seamus, his Mam didn't tell his Dad she was a witch till after they'd married and had young Seamus. He was a proper Muggle, see? I'll tell you now; he was more than a wee bit surprised. What about you?'

Charlie gulped down some pumpkin juice before replying. 'Both my parents and all my grandparents have magic; I think everyone in my family is magic actually. Well, except Mum's cousin, she's a Muggle accountant or something.'

'So've you got any brothers or sisters?' asked Buckley Cooper, a stocky blond boy.

'Yeah, I've got five brothers and one sister, my older brother, Bill, is over there,' said Charlie, pointing at Bill with some roast beef speared on the end of his fork. Bill was talking to Kirley and a black haired fifth year.

'It must be so cool to have a whole Wizarding family,' said Annie wistfully. 'I'm Muggle-born so I'd never even heard of Hogwarts until I got my letter.'

The conversation moved from topic to topic as the pupils of Hogwarts stuffed themselves with delicious morsels from the mountains of food in front of them. By the time dessert appeared Charlie barely had room for a second serving of trifle.

When every stomach in the Great Hall was fit to burst, Albus Dumbledore once again stood up.

'Now that we are all fed and watered, it is time for those notices I spoke of, then we can all get off to our lovely warm beds.

'Firstly, first years are to know that the dark forest in the grounds is strictly forbidden to all students, and some other students would do well to remember that as well.' Professor Dumbledore's eyes settled on certain guilty faces around the hall. 'Mr Filch wishes to remind everyone that magic is not to be used between classes, and stresses that it took two months to remove all traces of the salamander guts from the Transfiguration corridor last March.' A lank-haired man with bulging eyes grimaced in the corner of the room, angrily stroking a scrawny yellow-eyed cat.

'I would also like to introduce our newest member of staff: Professor Kelly who will be taking over the teaching of Defence Against the Dark Arts after Professor Waring's unfortunate incident with a hinkypunk over the summer.' A tall, thin man with black hair, streaked with white despite his seemingly young age, stood up to a round of applause. A number of students around the hall whispered among each other about Professor Waring.

'And finally, Quidditch try outs will be held next weekend. Anyone interested in playing for their house team should see Madam Hooch before Friday.' Dumbledore clapped his hands together to signal the end of the announcements.

'Now let us sing the School Song!'

A sixth year groaned loudly.

* * *

><p>After the song, the Gryffindor first years followed a fifth year prefect through the rabble of students out of the Great Hall and up the marble Grand Staircase. The prefect introduced himself as Timothy Savage, telling the first years some interesting facts about the School's architecture and history as they made their way higher and higher, through hidden doors and hanging tapestries.<p>

'Rowena Ravenclaw was the one to implement Hogwarts' ever changing floor-plan, did you know that? She was also the one who bewitched the ceiling in the Great Hall to make it look like the sky outside. For more details you can pick up a copy of _Hogwarts: A History_ by Garius Tomkink from the Library.'

At last, when Charlie's legs were ready to collapse beneath him, they stopped in front of the portrait of a rather large woman in a pink silk dress.

'Password?' she asked.

'Tessera,' replied Savage, and the portrait swung forward like a door to reveal a round hole in the wall with a knee-high step. They clambered over it and emerged into the Gryffindor common-room. The cosy round room filled with plush squashy armchairs was a welcome sight to Charlie's tired eyes.

'Welcome to the Gryffindor common-room,' said Savage, spreading his arms wide. 'Right now we are on the seventh floor. This is where you will spend your free time relaxing. As it is Sunday tomorrow there aren't any classes, so you can spend the day exploring the castle at your pleasure. Breakfast is served until 11am, followed by lunch. If you have any questions or would like a tour of the castle I would be willing to help you out. You can of course ask any of the other Gryffindor prefects, though I wouldn't try and bother my female counter-part Gwenog Jones, she's Quidditch Captain too, so she'll be a bit stressed out for a while until the team is sorted. Now then, dormitories are up these stairs,' he pointed to a spiral staircase at the back of the common-room. 'Boys' are on the left, girls' on the right. Your year's dormitory is on the seventh level, right at the top. Goodnight!'

Charlie, Fergus, Buckley and Reg were desperate for their beds when they reached their dormitory, and the four four-poster beds lining the walls like the points of a compass were heaven. Their trunks had already been brought up and were placed at the foot of each bed.

They were all too tired to talk so they stripped off their robes, changed into their pyjamas and collapsed onto their beds, not even bothering to draw the velvet crimson curtains around them.

Charlie remembered Fergus calling a sleepy 'night,' before snoring almost immediately. Charlie himself was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, and he dreamed peacefully all night long.


	3. Day One

The morning after the feast found Charlie and the rest of his dorm mates slumbering pleasantly until midmorning when the noise from the common-room downstairs made even the snoring Fergus Finnegan wake up.

'What time is it?' asked a sleepy Buck Cooper, Charlie checked the clock on his bedside.

'Half ten,' he grumbled, 'we should get up and get breakfast. It's probably going to end up as lunch now. That prefect said breakfast was until eleven.'

'What? No food?' complained Fergus.

'Well I don't know about you guys but I'm getting breakfast right now!' said Reg Cattermole as he jumped out of bed and started rooting around in his trunk.

A moment later they all followed suit and within ten minutes they were descending the spiral staircase in Gryffindor Tower and heading down to breakfast in the Great Hall.

The enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall was grey and overcast when the four boys stepped through the huge double doors. After rescuing Reg from a vanishing step and accidentally ending up stranded on the fifth floor for fifteen minutes before the Grand Staircase decided to move back, the smell of roast beef and Yorkshire puddings was like the smell of heaven to their grumbling stomachs.

'Hey Charlie!' Bill called over to him, 'over here!'

Charlie led the guys over to Bill, Myron and Kirley. Charlie introduced his friends to his brother.

'Have you guys just got up?' Bill asked, digging into his Sunday Lunch. The first years pulled some of the golden plates over to them and started piling on the food. 'Do you want us to give you a tour of the castle,' he asked, 'have you got your timetables yet?'

'Yeah, I've got mine here,' Charlie rooted around in the pockets of his jeans and produced a small square piece of parchment that had been placed on top of the new Gryffindor robes on his trunk. He handed it over to Bill.

'Ooh, rough day tomorrow – Snape, McGonagall, Sprout and the new Professor Kelly. We've got Kelly third; I hope he's better than Waring was.' Bill, Myron and Kirley shared a look. 'But anyway, when we're done eating we can show you around the grounds and where your lessons are.'

They ate rather quickly after that, eager to tour the castle and see their new home.

Charlie spotted Tonks and Don at the Hufflepuff table and went over to chat.

'What's going on with that name Tonks? Nympho- what was it?' He couldn't keep his voice steady as he saw the tips of her hair flare red.

'Nymphadora,' she muttered through gritted teeth.

'That's the one!' Charlie said brightly, 'anyway, I just popped over to see what subjects we have together tomorrow.' Tonks fished out her timetable from her pocket.

'I've got Defence, History of Magic, Herbology and Flying,' she said, reading off her subjects. Charlie checked his as she read them out.

'Cool! So we've got Herbology together, but not Potions or Transfiguration,' he thought for a moment, 'what about Charms? I've got it fifth on Tuesday.'

'Yes, we've got that! What about Astronomy, midnight on Thursday?' Don asked, reading over Tonks' shoulder.

'No, I've got that Tuesday,' Charlie said. 'Hey, when you're done do you want to come on a tour around the castle? My brother Bill's taking me and the boys around.'

'Sounds great,' they said before Charlie headed back to the Gryffindor Table.

For the next few hours Bill and his friends showed Charlie and the little gang of first years around the castle and grounds.

First, they went out to the greenhouses where they saw Professor Sprout, a short, dumpy woman pottering about with a number of strange plants. They then moved past the Black Lake, where they saw the Giant Squid basking in the few rays of sunlight on the water, over to the Quidditch pitch. Charlie and Fergus couldn't believe it when Don said he'd never heard of Quidditch, so they launched into explaining the rules of the game and the balls used. That discussion took them all the way over to Hagrid's hut on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Bill knocked on Hagrid's door but there was no answer so they moved on, past a gnarled looking willow, back to the castle.

Bill showed them down to the chilly dungeons, past the portrait of a witch in a ruff and a dark dress who told them that they'd 'better not be mudbloods', so Tonks told her to get lost. Down the end of the dungeon corridor Bill stopped and showed them where the potions classroom was. Professor Snape, the greasy-haired potions master emerged from his office and threatened to take 10 points from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff if they didn't get out.

'Try not to give Snape and excuse to take points away from you,' Bill advised as they climbed the spiral staircase back up to the Entrance Hall. 'He hates any house that isn't Slytherin.'

They mounted the Grand Staircase and Bill pointed out the vanishing steps as they went. They saw the Transfiguration and History of Magic classrooms on the first floor, the Charms classroom on the third (including a long conversation with the tiny Professor Flitwick who encouraged them to join Charms club). They passed the ghost of the Grey Lady on the way to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, also on the third floor.

Before long it was time for dinner and bed, ready for a long day of magical learning the next morning.

* * *

><p>The Gryffindor first years managed to find their way down to the Great Hall in time for breakfast the following morning, much to their delight. Dressed in his new Gryffindor robes and tie, armed with copies of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration, The Standard Book of Spells: Grade 1, Magical Theory, and Dark Forces: A Guide to Self Protection, Charlie was ready to begin his magical education and destroy his back.<p>

As Charlie dug into a plate of beans, bacon, egg and toast at the Gryffindor table, there was a gust of wind and hundreds of owls streamed into the Great Hall locating owners and dropping packages. Charlie absently looked up to see if the Weasley family owl, Errol, was in the feathery crowd.

'Oh no,' Charlie spotted the Great Grey Owl as it swooped unsteadily towards the Gryffindor table. Charlie started to rise from his seat, ready to catch the bird if it failed to land as it usually did. Further down the table Bill followed Errol with his eyes and hands ready. Errol glided towards them, lower and lower, about to crash land into a precarious stack of pancakes when Charlie plucked him out of the air, just before he hit the deck.

'Bloody bird,' Charlie muttered, sitting back down at the table, an unconscious Errol in his arms. 'He's fainted again.' He called down the table to Bill, who shrugged. Charlie laid Errol down in his lap and untied the letter attached to his leg.

'Is that your owl Charlie?' Reg asked, 'I wish I had an owl, my parents wouldn't let me.'

'You wouldn't want this owl, trust me. The stupid bird can't even land properly.' As soon as the letter was detached, Errol's eyes snapped open. Charlie fed the bird a strip of bacon, and in a ruffle of feathers Errol was back on his unsteady wings flying out of the Hall.

There were two letters in the envelope Charlie opened, one for him, one for Bill. He passed Bill's letter down the table and read his own. It was from his mother.

**_Dear Charlie,_**

**_I hope Errol got to you okay, he's been looking a bit peaky lately._**

**_Congratulations on making Gryffindor, your father and I are so proud! Has Bill showed you around yet? He said he would. Perce misses you, he keeps asking me when you're coming home. Fred and George are being even more of a handful now that you're not around but settle down if I put Ginny near them, and Ron has finally stopped screaming every time he sees a spider. Dad sends his love. Work hard and have fun!_**

**_Owl us when you can to tell us all about your first week,_**

**_Lots of love,_**

**_Mum and Dad_**

**_xxx_**

Charlie smiled as he imagined what was going on at home but felt a little home-sick as he wouldn't see them until next summer. It had only been a year ago that little Ron had accidentally broken Fred's toy broomstick causing five year old Fred to turn Ron's favourite teddy bear into a spider in a fit of rage. Ever since, Ron had screamed his head off every time he saw a spider.

Charlie folded the letter up and put it in the inside pocket of his robes.

* * *

><p>Double Potions with Professor Snape and the Slytherin first years was his first lesson. What Bill had said about Snape the previous day turned out to be true. From the moment Snape entered the classroom, billowing black cape and all, until the moment he dismissed the class, he picked on the Gryffindors and praised the Slytherins exclusively.<p>

'Finnegan, are you making a Boil Cure Potion or a Bulgeye Potion? Five points from Gryffindor. Next time take care to remove your cauldron from the fire before adding quills.' Fergus stared incredulously as Snape waved his wand and his potion disappeared, leaving an empty cauldron.

'Weasley! What are you looking at? The instructions clearly say "stir 5 times, clockwise" you are stirring anticlockwise. Are you incapable or just illiterate?'

But of course it was all praise for the other side of the room, 'Well done, Rowle, you will make a fine potioneer one day. You've got the exact shade of turquoise as is indicated in the textbook. Cooper, you should take tips from Rowle here, his natural talents in this subject far surpass your own.'

By the end of the lesson the Gryffindors couldn't wait to get out of the class. Charlie met up with Tonks and Don at break time. They listened incredulously to his account of the lesson and told him how amazing their Defence lesson was.

'It was so cool!' Tonks grinned as she supported Don's weight, 'we're learning the Jelly-Legs Jinx and Professor Kelly said that I'm a natural! Then he said that at the end of the year he'll teach us the Bat-Bogey Hex!' Don smiled in agreement as his legs wobbled under his weight – the effects of Tonks' jinx hadn't quite worn off yet.

The next lesson was Transfiguration, and Charlie was eager to see whether Professor McGonagall, as Head of Gryffindor, would show them any preferential treatment like Snape did to the Slytherins. In this he was disappointed, but not with the rest of the lesson.

When he, Buck, Reg and Fergus sat down in their seats Professor McGonagall stood sternly beside her desk. Her square glasses made her seem even more formidable than she already appeared.

'Welcome to Transfiguration. These lessons will teach you some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn while at Hogwarts. Anyone who dares to mess around in my class will leave and never come back. You have been warned,' she gravely informed the class. 'Turn to chapter one of Emeric Switch's Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration.'

She turned to her desk and tapped it twice with her wand, turning it into a cow and back. The class applauded and eagerly flipped to the correct page in their books. But it seemed that they wouldn't be transfiguring desks into animals quite so soon. Instead they made notes from the board and then attempted to transfigure a match into a needle.

By the end of the lesson Charlie's brain felt like mush and only Martin Amerinus, a brown haired Ravenclaw boy with high cheekbones, had managed to make a noticeable difference to his match – McGonagall pointed out how it was thin and pointy like a toothpick. Charlie personally thought his match was looking thinner than it had started. Fergus was on his fifth match as they had kept lighting up every time his wand touched it; there were scorch marks all over his desk.

After lunch, Charlie and the other Gryffindors headed to Greenhouse One with the Hufflepuffs. Both groups were refreshed after their filling lunch. Before lunch the Hufflepuffs had had History of Magic, which they thought would be cool seeing as the teacher was a ghost. But no, it was by far the most boring subject on earth, Tonks complained to Charlie as they walked across the bridge.

'The best bit of the lesson was when he walked into the room through the blackboard. Then he just started going on about goblins and stuff!' All in all, they couldn't wait to get their hands dirty in Herbology.

'Right class!' Professor Sprout called as she let them into the warm and sweet smelling greenhouse. 'Today we will be learning the correct way to prune aconite, now, can anyone tell me what other names this plant goes by?' A Hufflepuff and a Gryffindor raised their hands. 'Elkins?' Sprout addressed the Gryffindor girl.

'Wolfsbane and Monkshood,' she answered.

The class continued like a question and answer session with some gardening thrown in, but it was still Charlie's favourite lesson of the day.

After break they had Defence Against the Dark Arts with the new Professor Kelly. After Tonks' excited review of the class Charlie wasn't sure what to expect. The class filed into the long classroom and took their seats. Professor Kelly with his black and white hair stood at the front of the class. He wasn't dressed in robes like the other teachers, but rather in a very Muggle style: trousers and shirt with rolled up sleeves.

Charlie found himself sitting behind Scabior, a black haired Slytherin.

'This class is here to help you combat the effects of Dark Magic,' Professor Kelly began, 'and we'll be starting with some pretty simple distraction. There is a lot of practical work in my lessons and the theory will be for your homework, without which you can't cast the next lesson's spells. So I expect you all to do what I ask for homework. Understood?' The class murmured that they did, 'So, let's start with some common sense, shall we? It's very hard to curse someone if you can't walk, isn't it?' He called a thin Slytherin boy up to the front of the class.

'Name?'

'Robert Gibbon, sir,' replied the boy.

'Okay Gibbon, I want you to walk towards me with your wand up. I don't expect you to cast any spells; this is just for demonstration. Okay?'

Gibbon nodded and walked away.

'Begin,' Kelly ordered. Gibbon walked towards him, wand raised. '_Locomotor Wibbly_!' Professor Kelly said. A flash of purple flew from the end of his wand and hit Gibbon on the knees. He immediately wobbled on his legs as he tried to take another step forward but promptly fell over.

The class laughed. Kelly walked over to Gibbon, muttered the counter curse and helped the red-faced boy back to his feet.

'Now, you heard the spell and have seen what it can do. I'll write the pronunciation on the board. Find a partner and try to cast this on each other. Remember this: P.I.C. – pronunciation, imagination and conviction!'

When the lesson ended the entire class was grinning despite the fact that they couldn't walk without support. Professor Kelly went around casting counter curses and advising them not to go running for a few hours.

After dinner Charlie and the boys headed straight to their dorm to work on their unexpected pile of homework, tired out by the day's lessons and excited for the next.


	4. Halloween

The first week of Hogwarts flew by and before they knew it the weekend had arrived. Charlie woke early to finish a letter to his parents.

**_Hi Mum and Dad,_**

**_My first week has been great! Bill showed me around the castle. I've got a few new friends here who are really nice. There's Buck Cooper and Annie Stark who are also in Gryffindor, and Don Tremlett and Tonks (don't ask me to spell her first name) who are in Hufflepuff. Tonks is also a metamorph-something so she can change her hair colour whenever she wants! It's so cool! _**

**_So far, my favourite lesson is Defence Against the Dark Arts because we're learning about jinxes, but I also like Transfiguration and Charms. I really don't like Potions, but I think that's because of Professor Snape. No one likes him. _**

**_Love to everyone,_**

**_Charlie_**

Having finished the letter, he quietly dressed and headed to the Owlery. He stopped to chat with Nearly Headless Nick, the resident Gryffindor ghost, who warned him that Peeves was making mischief on the third floor Defence corridor.

Finally, Charlie arrived at the top of the Owlery steps. The air was thick with the gentle hoots of slumbering owls; the floor was strewn with droppings and small animal bones. He selected a proud looking barn owl to deliver his letter. The owl wasn't happy about having to get up, but it flew off all the same once Charlie had attached his letter.

He was just about to walk back to Gryffindor tower when he heard footsteps ascending the steps towards him. It was Tonks and Don.

'Hey!' Tonks called with a smile when she saw him. Her hair was blonde today, wavy with curls at the ends. 'How come you're up so early?'

'Owling my parents,' he explained, 'you?'

'Same, and Don's never sent letters by owl before so I'm going to show him,' Don was looking up at the high ceiling of the Owlery.

'I've never seen so many owls before in my life!' He gasped.

Tonks called one of the school owls down to them and showed Don how to tie a letter onto its leg without hurting it. She showed him how to tell the owl where to go and how to hold it. Charlie sat on a relatively clean windowsill, wishing he knew at least one cleaning spell, and waited for them to finish.

Once Tonks had sent her letter too, they headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Charlie liked the weekend breakfasts because you didn't have to sit on your house table. So he joined Tonks and Don on the Hufflepuff table. Buck joined them later, but Reg and Fergus chose to sit at the Gryffindor table. A Gryffindor girl called Annie Stark also came over and sat by Tonks.

'Flying lessons start this week,' Buck said when they all sat down, 'I can't wait! I was so annoyed when the letter said first years can't bring their own brooms!'

'You've got your own broom?' Charlie asked enviously, he had always wanted one, but his parents didn't have a lot of money, so he had to use his father's old broom – an old Swiftstick which only flew about five metres from the ground.

The rest of breakfast was taken up with a discussion on the merits of different brooms.

'Do you guys want to watch the Quidditch team trials? Charlie asked, 'Slytherin have the pitch first today but then it's the Gryffindor team. Tomorrow is Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff,'

'I'm up for that!' chirped Tonks. No one could think of anything better to do, so they headed to their respective dorms and wrapped up warm for an afternoon in the Quidditch stands.

The Slytherin trials had finished with second year Di Pietro as the new Chaser, and third years Connington and Kiely as Beater and Seeker respectively.

Then by the end of the day, the Gryffindor team was back to its full strength.

The new Keeper, fourth year Barry Ryan, out flew the rest of his competition and saved all five out of five goals shot at him by seventh year Chaser Kath Hunter. The other two Chasers were picked from a crowd of about fifteen hopefuls. Second year Arthur Dent didn't look like much but he was surprisingly good at weaving past the rest of the team trying to tackle him and even managed to get close to the goals, Ryan of course saved his shots. third year Jonathan Roberts, however, was like an Abraxan horse as he barged through the defence, Quaffle in hand, and sped towards the hoops.

Gryffindor Captain and Beater, Gwenog Jones, thinned the crowd of prospective Beaters by half as soon as she lined them all up. Then she put the remaining seven through a rigorous set of exercises to test their stamina and skill before setting Bludgers on the four left standing. One broken nose and a minor concussion later, third year Joey Jenkins held his new Beater's club aloft in victory.

Charlie and the gang cheered as each of the new players did a celebratory lap around the stands.

The following day, they headed back down to the grounds with the extra-curricular timetables that Professor McGonagall had handed out to see what they might be interested in doing outside of lessons.

'Kirley and Myron were saying that the Music club is pretty good,' Don told Charlie, 'I might go to that and see about learning bass again. Kirley said the guitars and things in the Wizarding World are different to the ones in the Muggle world.'

'I was thinking of doing Ghoul Studies,' said Tonks, 'Don't you think it would be cool to learn about vampires and stuff?'

The Ravenclaw team Keeper ended up as fourth year Oakden Hobday as he was the only candidate. Third year Chaser, Valmai Morgan out skilled every one of her competition. A scrawny third year called James Alderton surprised seventh year Captain and fellow Beater, Brevis Birch, by accurately hitting every Bludger aimed at him.

After lunch, they watched the Hufflepuff trials.

'They've got a young team,' Buck commented as they watched the new Keeper – third year Spungen – block Quaffle shots from the two new Chasers. Dorny and Mullet were speedy and not without skill. The same could not be said of the newly selected Dunstan who had the power behind the Beater's club but his agility left something to be desired.

'Who cares?' laughed Tonks as they trekked back up to the castle, 'Hufflepuff are going to kick your Gryffindor butts!' And as if it was the universe's reply, she promptly tripped over a rock and landed flat on her face. It was one of the funniest sights Charlie had ever seen.

'Ow,' Tonks groaned, picking herself up from the ground. Only then did she realise that everyone else was on the floor too, laughing at her fall. She chuckled and joined in, laughing at herself.

* * *

><p>In next to no time Charlie and the gang, which consisted of Tonks, Don, Buck and Annie, were settled into a routine at Hogwarts.<p>

They would go to classes and chat at break and lunch. They would do their homework either in the Great Hall or in the library. At weekends they would either go and watch whichever house Quidditch team was practising, or find an empty classroom to practise their newly learnt spells in.

Every now and then they would do their own thing, like when Don would go with Kirley and Myron to play some music. The three of them had even discussed starting a band together. Charlie liked to go and help Hagrid, or the unpredictable Professor Kettleburn, with any outdoorsy creature related things. Ever since Charlie had spotted Professor Kettleburn rounding up Crups for a fifth year class he had found himself with an ever increasing interest in magical creatures.

Tonks, on the other hand, quickly gravitated to the Hogwarts duelling club and was discovering that she had a very natural talent for it, so much so, that she was beginning to gain a reputation as the only first year no one wanted to mess with. Professor Kelly wouldn't stop going on about her, much to Charlie's envy.

Annie spent time in Charms club, learning some handy spells that she mainly used for personalising her things. Buck, however, spent every available moment trying to talk about Quidditch to whoever would listen. By early October even Madam Hooch, the eagle-eyed Flying teacher, was fed up of hearing about the Montrose Magpies' win over the Wimbourne Wasps in the final of the British and Irish League, despite Ludo Bagman knocking out two Magpie chasers with some very accurate beating. Otto Bagman, a sixth year Hufflepuff and Ludo's younger brother, threatened to jinx Buck if he mentioned it once more.

Charlie had never been happier. Before coming to Hogwarts he had only had his parents and his siblings to hang around with, occasionally visited by a distant cousin who never visited again. So being surrounded by all these new and not-ginger people with different interests and traits was a pleasant change.

Suddenly, Halloween was upon them. The vegetable patch outside Hagrid's hut was bursting with massive pumpkins, the Hogwarts Frog Choir were scheduling last minute rehearsals, and Peeves could be found behind almost every corner, ready with bottles of red ink to spray at unsuspecting students. It became normal for students to walk around looking as though they were covered in blood as a result.

The morning of Halloween Charlie received an owl from home. The letter was from his mother, thanking him and Bill for their birthday messages (she turned thirty-five the previous day). Charlie's father had taken her out for a meal at the Conjurer's while Aunt Muriel looked after Percy, Fred, George, Ron and Ginny. Molly wasn't entirely sure what had happened, but when they returned home Muriel's hair was steaming and the stairway smelled of cabbages.

That break time, as the gang sat in the library, Charlie spotted that day's Daily Prophet lying on a nearby desk. He picked it up and read the headline aloud: '"Three Years On: How the Wizarding World has progressed since Harry Potter Defeated You-Know-Who"'.

'Has it really only been three years? It feels more like ten,' Tonks murmured.

'I remember when we found out,' Buck recalled, 'it was in the morning Prophet and my Mum screamed. Dad, me, and my little brother Connor all ran downstairs to find out what had happened and we found her crying with happiness at the table. We went to Diagon Alley later that day and she bought me my Cleansweep Six in celebration.

'So is that why there were all those owls going around?' asked Don, 'and people in robes all over the place?'

'I remember that!' cried Annie, earning a disapproving glare from Madam Pince, 'there were loads of shooting stars too – no one knew what was going on!'

'Of course, you're both Muggle-born!' Tonks whispered, lest they attract the wrath of Madam Pince, 'you wouldn't have known what was going on.'

'I remember my Dad saying that the shooting stars were probably caused by Deadalus Diggle,' added Charlie, 'and that he'd get a charge from the Ministry if he wasn't careful.' Charlie became solemn as he remembered more of that night. 'Mum was crying because Uncle Fabian and Uncle Gideon had died a month before. They were killed by Death Eaters.' Charlie's voice broke and Tonks leaned over and gave him a comforting pat on the back. 'They were my favourite uncles – always a laugh at Christmas Dinner. Then they joined the Order of the Phoenix and were killed a month before the War ended.'

'My parents were in the Order too,' Tonks said sullenly, 'until I was born, then it was too dangerous for them to carry on considering one half of my family was Muggle and the other would have happily killed us all.'

'How come?' asked Don.

'My Mum's family are all pure-blood maniacs. _Toujours Pur_ is the Black family motto. Always Pure. They disowned my Mum for marrying Dad just because he was Muggle-born. Her two sisters had joined the Death Eaters as soon as they had left school. When I was born, Mum got a death threat from my Aunt Bellatrix telling her that she was bringing further shame to the "noble house of Black" than she had thought possible and would have to repent or be killed. Mum burnt the letter on the spot.'

'Wait, your Aunt Bellatrix – Bellatrix Lestrange?'

'The very same. Because of her I spent the first seven years of my life in a Ministry safe house, only able to go out in the garden. She deserves to rot in Azkaban after what she did to the Longbottoms,' Tonks spat.

'Wow,' Charlie breathed, trying to lighten the tone of the conversation, 'and I thought my family had it bad just with Aunt Muriel.' The tension broke like a china plate and they all laughed, but throughout the day Charlie found himself thinking back to that day – the sadness and the relief. All thanks to a tiny, one year old baby called Harry Potter.

But all thoughts of the past were eradicated as soon as Charlie set foot in the Great Hall that evening.

The sky was black and cloudless, dotted with twinkling stars. Tall, tapering candles floated above the five tables, casting an eerie glow over those who were seated. Hagrid's giant pumpkins were dotted around the Hall, flickering candles in each. Professor Flitwick had charmed them to cackle every now and then just to creep people out.

Professor Dumbledore stood up once everyone was seated and the Hall fell silent.

'Welcome, everyone to the Halloween Feast! I hope you are all hungry!' A number of seventh years cheered. 'Indeed! Humour me for a moment longer, if you please. Just to remind you all that the opening Quidditch match of the season takes place this Saturday between Gryffindor and Slytherin,' Dumbledore paused and waited for the cat-calls and stamping of feet to die down, 'best of luck to both teams!

'Now, before we begin the feast the Frog Choir wish to perform a little number they've been working on. I am told that it is entitled "Thriller" and is by a well-known Muggle artist named Michael Jackson.'

'Ooh, I love this song!' Annie whispered to Charlie.

'The song is highly popular among Muggles and I'm sure we will be able to see why. Professor Flitwick, if you please!'

The Hall clapped politely as Professor Flitwick and the rest of the Frog Choir filed in in front of the Staff Table. Myron stood forward as the soloist, the only one not holding a huge warty frog.

It was an altogether enjoyable performance indeed. It was apparent that Myron was a gifted showman and could sing well too, but what impressed Charlie most of all was how they had charmed the frogs to croak 'thriller'. Fergus, who was sat beside Charlie, jumped so much when all the pumpkins cackled simultaneously at the end of the performance that he knocked over his goblet of pumpkin juice, much to Charlie's amusement. The choir received a standing ovation as they returned to their seats. Myron took a while to bow to each of the house tables and staff in turn.

'Yes, yes, thank you Mr. Wagtail,' Professor Dumbledore chuckled as Myron at last took his seat with a final elaborate bow to the Headmaster before sitting down at the Hufflepuff table. 'That was a fantastic performance once again from the Frog Choir. And now, the part you've all been waiting for – bon appétit!'

The plates in front of Charlie bloomed with food as they had on the night of the Start of Term feast, only this time they were laden with pumpkin pies and black forest gateau among other things, as well as some unsettlingly realistic 'finger food'.


	5. Gryffindor vs Slytherin 10 FAVE STORIES

_**THIS CHAPTER IS BROUGHT TO YOU IN HONOUR OF DUNGBOMBS, DRINKING AND DRAGONS BEING ADDED TO THE FAVOURITE STORIES LIST OF 10 READERS!**_

_**WOO!**_

* * *

><p>The day of the first Quidditch match of the season began with a light breeze that soon escalated into a brisk wind.<p>

Charlie could only describe the atmosphere in the castle as buzzing. From the t-shirt Bill gave Charlie emblazoned with the Gryffindor crest, to the face paint charms that some of the more talented students were applying to each other. Gryffindor House was in great spirits.

As each member of the Gryffindor Quidditch team traipsed down the spiral staircase from the dormitories they were met with applause and a chorus of 'Go Go Gryffindor!' until Gwenog Jones, the captain, ordered her team downstairs for breakfast.

By the time Charlie, Buck, Fergus and Reg arrived for breakfast in the Great Hall they couldn't wait for the match to begin. Annie was talking to a fifth year that was showing her how to do a face painting charm. Charlie plonked himself down next to her.

'Looking forward to the game?' he asked, piling rashers of bacon onto his plate.

'Yes!' she grinned, 'I've never seen a proper game of Quidditch before, just the practices.'

'You wait, you'll love it!' Charlie was about to tell her how great the game would be when the Slytherin table at the other end of the Hall exploded with noise. Their team had just walked in.

Huge, surly and altogether intimidating, Charlie was torn between thinking that they'd be a tough team to beat and an eagerness to try and beat them himself.

At least two minutes after the Slytherin team had walked in Professor McGonagall was letting off a purple firecracker from the end of her wand, as the booing and hissing across the Hall threatened to involve wands. Many of the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs looked relieved as they would have been caught in the crossfire of jinxes and hexes that would surely have followed.

'Aw, that looked like it would have been good fun,' mused a voice from behind Charlie. He almost choked on his fried egg when he saw that it was Tonks. She had morphed her hair for the Quidditch.

'What have you done to your hair?' he gasped, gulping a goblet of pumpkin juice to wash the egg down his throat.

'Why? Don't you like it?' she grabbed his spoon and checked her reflection in the back of it. 'What's wrong with it?' she demanded.

Her hair looked like it was on fire. Compliant with the true Gryffindor colours, it started scarlet red at the roots and slowly changed to gold at the tips. It was striking at the very least.

'Nothing,' he backtracked, noticing that others were starting to notice her hair too, 'just a bit unexpected.'

'Oh, okay,' with a smile she skipped off to the Hufflepuff table to sit by Don and Myron, each of whom were sporting red and gold Gryffindor flags, despite being Hufflepuff. No one wanted Slytherin to win, except the Slytherins. Myron howled with laughter when he saw Tonks' hair and even high fived her when he calmed down a bit.

Annie watched Charlie as he watched Tonks start on her breakfast.

'What?' he blinked when he caught her looking. She rolled her eyes.

'Tactless. Absolutely tactless.' She muttered. Charlie hadn't the foggiest what she was on about so he got back to the rest of his breakfast.

* * *

><p>Up in the stands Charlie pressed his binoculars tight to his eyes; the players were about to come onto the pitch.<p>

'Here come the Slytherins!' Myron was commenting on the match under the restraining eye of Professor McGonagall. A raucous cheer came from the silver and green decked side of the pitch, a chorus of boos and hisses from the scarlet and gold.

'Spokes! Parkes! Carter! Quigley! Connington! Kiely! And Di Pietrooooo!' Myron called as seven emerald blurs shot out of the gate. 'An interesting line up order there from captain Steven Spokes, clearly choosing his squad to go in age rather than skill,' Through his binoculars Charlie saw the huge Slytherin captain's face twist with rage as he took his position at the centre circle. Before landing he whispered something in Quigley the beater's ear.

'Myron had better watch out for that one,' Charlie muttered to Buck. But before he could reply–

'Here come the GRYFFINDORS!' The crowd roared with delight, literally; Charlie noticed that some of the seventh years had charmed megaphones to roar when spoken into.

'Hunter! Rawlins! Dent! Jenkins! Roberts! Ryan! And Jones!' The Gryffindor team darted onto the pitch and lapped the stands once in an arrowhead formation. 'Hunter and Rawlins of course are opening the first game of their final Quidditch season here at Hogwarts! A noble gesture from Captain Gwenog Jones!'

The two teams faced each other at the centre circle and the two captains met in the middle. Madam Hooch spoke to them both and they shook hands, both trying to stare each other down. Spokes and Jones remounted their brooms and took to the air.

Madam Hooch blew the whistle and threw the Quaffle into the air, the crowd yelled support and the game began.

'Parkes takes the Quaffle and dodges a tackle from Roberts; he's speeding towards the goal! Will this be the first test for new keeper Barry Ryan? No! Excellent batting from Jones as Parkes narrowly misses a headshot from a bludger!' Myron's narration was so fast that Charlie barely had time to understand what he was saying before something new had happened on the pitch. Having always been a Chudley Cannons supporter, this match was the most exciting Quidditch game Charlie had ever seen live.

'Hunter's got the ball! Off she shoots towards the Slytherin goal! Past Di Pietro, past Parkes, past Spokes! Is she gonna make it to the goal? Yes, she is! Now it's one on one with the keeper – Carter's proven he's a good keeper, but can he save this? NO HE CAN'T! AND IT'S GRYFFINDOR WHO TAKE THE FIRST TEN POINTS OF THE MATCH!' The crowd was going wild; Charlie couldn't hear anything but noise as everyone around him exploded with glee. Buck and Tonks were jumping up and down, waving their flags. Hunter did a celebratory backwards loop before the game restarted.

Ten minutes in it was 30-0 to Gryffindor and there had been no sign of the snitch.

'Nice bludger shot there from Connington and Dent is forced to drop the ball. Di Pietro takes possession, he's had a good game so far has new chaser Antonio Di Pietro – can he keep it up? He's past Hunter and Roberts and into the scoring zone – SAVED! Ryan pulls off a spectacular save there! And it's still 30-0 to Gryffindor with no – wait, was that the snitch?'

A whisper ran through the crowd like fiendfyre as the two Seekers, Kiely and Rawlins, sped off towards the Slytherin end of the pitch. Kiely had the speed but Rawlins, the more experienced of the two, had the skill. Both had their arms out, reaching for the tiny gold ball, Rawlins edged ahead slightly as they rounded a corner and it looked like the match was going to end there –

BAM!

Three quarters of the crowd screamed with rage, Myron was spitting feathers up in the commentary box.

'FILTHY ROTTEN– STINKING CHEATING SCUMBAG!'

'Wagtail!' Professor McGonagall shrieked at him.

'Sorry Professor,' but Myron was still angry and it wasn't hard to see why. Quigley had aimed a bludger at the racing Seekers, and unfortunately for the Gryffindor team and supporters, he had an excellent aim. The bludger had connected with Rawlins' outstretched arm and caused him to spin out of control into one of the Slytherin goal posts. Roberts and Dent caught him before he crashed into the ground. Jenkins was restraining Hunter who looked as if she was going to batter Quigley with her bare hands, while Jones was angrily gesturing at Quigley and her unconscious Seeker as she spoke to Madam Hooch. The Slytherin team formed a protective circle around Quigley. The snitch was lost in the confusion.

Charlie focused his binoculars on Madam Hooch and Gwenog Jones. Madam Hooch was shaking her head as Jones became increasingly more frustrated and red in the face, pointing repeatedly at Rawlins with her beater's bat. Madam Hooch finally got annoyed with her and pointed to the other end of the pitch while putting the whistle to her lips. The meaning was clear – stop arguing or concede a penalty. Jones reluctantly glided away from the referee and went to check on her Seeker. Rawlins had regained consciousness after his collision with the hoop, but his broom kept drifting off to the side when he was left unsupported.

Madam Hooch blew her whistle and waved her left hand.

'WHAT?' Myron screamed down the loudspeaker, 'No penalty for that obvious foul on the Gryffindor Seeker, but only a warning!' The crowd booed and the Slytherins cheered. 'Rawlins refuses to quit and decides to carry on. Gryffindor have possession!' and so the match continued. Gryffindor came back with renewed strength after that incident and doubled their lead within another 10 minutes.

Forty-five minutes into the game it was 80-20 to Gryffindor.

Jones and Jenkins directed every bludger that came their way at the Slytherins with more power and accuracy than Charlie thought possible. Connington received a broken nose and Spokes took a bludger to the chest before Slytherin scored again.

Hunter had just scored a penalty from Parkes colliding with Jones in an obvious case of blatching to make it 100-30 when the game became tense again.

'Come on Gryffindor!' Myron yelled down the microphone, forgetting that he was meant to be unbiased even when Professor McGonagall loudly reminded him. 'Rawlins is just inches away from the snitch! How he's holding on to his broom after that bludger I don't know, but he just needs to hold on a little longer– YES! HE'S DONE IT! RICHARD RAWLINS HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH FOR GRYFFINDOR TO MAKE IT 250-30!'

It was like thunder in the stands; everyone was on their feet jumping and stamping and cheering as Rawlins did an unsteady lap of the stands holding the snitch high in the air, supporting himself with his uninjured arm. The rest of the Gryffindor team descended on him and enveloped him in a bubble of scarlet and gold robes.

Charlie's ears were ringing when he left the Quidditch pitch with the rest of the crowd. The roars from the enchanted megaphones were louder than ever and Charlie could barely hear what anyone was saying.

'That was so cool!' Don was yelling, 'way better than any football match!'

'What's football?' Buck asked, Charlie had no idea.

'Never mind!' Don laughed, on a high from the excitement of the match.

Bill tapped Charlie on the shoulder, 'Party in the Gryffindor common room tonight after dinner.' And he headed off arm in arm with a Ravenclaw girl.

* * *

><p>The post Quidditch match Gryffindor party was amazing. Charlie, Buck, Fergus and Reg headed up to the common room after dinner and found that the party was just getting started.<p>

Kirley was fiddling with a radio in the corner, trying to find a station with anything other than Celestina Warbeck or The Hobgoblins. He was unsuccessful however, and settled for The Hobgoblins rather than listen to what he called a 'lonely old banshee'. Charlie smirked when he thought of the walloping Kirley would have received from his mother if she heard him say that. Molly Weasley was a great lover of Celestina's music.

When the team entered the room they received a loud cheer and a round of applause. Gwenog Jones was even coaxed into making a little speech.

'Thank you all for your support today – you really helped us find that extra push to squash those snakes good and proper!' More applause, 'and if this is only the opening match after-party then I can't wait for the one when we win the Quidditch cup!' The room went crazy.

'They've not even had any Butterbeer yet,' Bill chuckled in Charlie's ear.

'You can get some?' Charlie had never tasted Butterbeer before, but everyone said it was the best drink ever. Well, except for Uncle Billius – he said Firewhisky was the best, which probably explained last Christmas when he started waltzing with a gnome.

'Not for you little brother,' Bill winked, heading to join Gryffindors from his own year.

'You'll all be pleased to know,' Gwenog continued once the cheers had settled down, 'that Rawlins will be absolutely fine. In fact, he should be here for the drinks tonight!' More cheers. 'And we'll be sure to get Quigley back for that in due course!'

It was about eight thirty when Bill, Kirley and Joey Jenkins returned from the kitchen laden with bottles of Butterbeer and piles of Pumpkin pasties. Then the party really kicked off. At nine, Rawlins arrived accompanied by Hunter, and received a pat on the back from just about every Gryffindor in the room.

Bill slipped Charlie a Butterbeer later in the night. It was the tastiest thing he'd ever tried. Warmth and contentment spread through his body all the way to his fingers and toes. He drank half a bottle in five gulps it tasted so good, and then Bill promptly took the bottle away.

'Not so fast little brother,' he winked.

At about eleven o'clock Savage suggested that the party should start to wind down for bed, but he was totally ignored. He suggested the same an hour later and found himself glued to his bed with a sticking charm cast by a group of fourth years.

It was half past one in the morning. Charlie felt like half a zombie and Fergus had fallen asleep in one of the comfy chairs; someone had colour-charmed his hair neon green. Professor McGonagall ordered them all to bed; apparently they were keeping the portraits up. No one wanted to go to bed but McGonagall refused to leave until they had.

As soon as Charlie's head hit the pillow he was out like a light.

* * *

><p><em><strong>If you want more Charlie then get reviewing or spreading the word about this story! Extra uploads are only for milestone occasions.<strong>_

_**The next milestones are:**_

_**50 reviews (33 away - so get reviewing!), 5,000 hits (3,736 to go), 25 favourite stories (14 away) or 50 story alerts (31 to go)!**_

_**Thank you to all of you who have helped me get to this milestone of 10 favourite stories: **abnormalities, CrucioImperio, huggie101, morganalefeyfairy, OliviaKatetheGreat, Phoenix Tears Of A Riddle, Phoenix-Core7, render17, themusicfiend **and** verliebtindich**. As you can tell, it is much appreciated.**_

_**Thank you to all of you who are still reading! I hope you enjoy all the Charlie chapters still to come, and don't forget to check out my other stories - one of which is Tonks' version of these same events!**_

_**LittleGuitar94**_


	6. Interval - McGonagall

_**McGonagall**_

Minerva McGonagall pursed her lips. She was dressed in a tartan nightgown, her dark hair was loose, and she had been disturbed from a thoroughly restful sleep. The portraits of witches and wizards long past had sent Sir Nicholas to wake her because her Gryffindor students were keeping them awake.

_They're portraits, _Minerva had fumed as she pulled on her dressing gown. _Why in Merlin's name do they need to sleep?_

But nevertheless she had climbed from her first floor office to Gryffindor Tower on the seventh floor. It was almost two o'clock in the morning and the party showed no signs of stopping, despite the number of students asleep on the furniture. Minerva stood in the entrance of the common-room, unseen by the party-goers, until she set off a firecracker from her wand.

'Bed! All of you!' She ordered, much to the displeasure of the older students. She wondered how many times over the years that she had ignored the bottles of Butterbeer that always ended up in her house common-room after a Quidditch victory. _I must remember to talk to Albus about those house-elves. _

Minerva was reminded of a time when she had been one of those celebrating with the rest of Gryffindor house, a chaser on the house team before her injuries forced her to stop. But now she separated one of the current Gryffindor chasers, Kath Hunter, from the seeker, Richard Rawlins, and sent them up to bed. _Their own beds_, she stressed as they slunk up the spiral staircase to the dormitories.

Scanning the room she herded a number of first years up the staircase, including a zombie-like Charlie Weasley who could barely put one foot in front of the other. She woke another first year, Fergus Finnegan, from where he slept on the sofa. Someone had charmed his hair bright green. It always amused Minerva, the creativeness of the students, and she always wished that they would put the same level of effort into their studies that they did into their pranks on each other. A number of examples stood out regarding failed potential.

'Where are the prefects?' she asked a fourth year, Hiddleston, who was actually on Minerva's list of potential prefects for the following year.

Hiddleston shrugged, 'Savage is upstairs stuck to his bed, and I've not seen Jones for a few hours, professor.'

_That figures_. She finished ushering students upstairs; they just kept appearing from the corners of the room in various states of drunkenness. Bill Weasley wandered up to his dorm, a fuzzy smile on his face, supported by Kirley McCormack. How that boy managed to be doing twelve O.W.L. subjects and still find time to have a social life was a mystery to Minerva. She sincerely hoped that he wouldn't squander his opportunity, given the amount of work she had done to acquire a time-turner for him.

Once the common-room had been emptied of its occupants Minerva checked each dormitory for the right number of occupants. She shooed a few of the girls from the boys' rooms and eventually found that only a handful of students were still missing. With a sigh Minerva headed back out of the portrait hole. She asked the Fat Lady, eagerly assisted by her friend Violet, which way any students had gone and quickly flushed them out of the disused classrooms and broom cupboards they had taken refuge in.

Her most surprising find was Gwenog Jones and the Hufflepuff captain, Phillip Spinks, in one of Filch's cleaning cupboards. That would be an interesting point of discussion with Pomona in the morning. _It's already morning_, she reminded herself as she sent Spinks packing down the Grand Staircase.

After ensuring that the Fat Lady would make note of any student leaving their dormitory before breakfast, Minerva thankfully headed back down the Grand Staircase back to bed. She passed a portrait of Bertie Bott who snored loudly as she passed. Minerva found herself thinking back, once more, to her own days at Hogwarts, when Bertie Bott had been one of her classmates, not a world-famous chocolate and sweet pioneer. Such thoughts led Minerva onto her plans for the following day where she and Rolanda were planning on spending the day with Rosmerta in Hogsmeade; the three had been good friends in the same year at school.

Minerva shrugged off her dressing gown and placed her glasses beside her wand on the bedside table. The temperature had dropped since she had left the room, so she wrapped herself in an old blanket beneath her patched duvet, planning lessons for the coming week until she drifted off to sleep.


	7. Twelve

A few days later, as they sat in the library researching the uses of moonstone, Don announced that it was his 12th birthday.

'What? Why didn't you tell us before?' Tonks hissed, keeping her voice down as Madam Pince glided past.

'It didn't seem very important,' Don shrugged.

'It's your first birthday in the Wizarding world!'

'It's really no big deal.' Don told her, but she wouldn't hear of it. 'Going to that Quidditch game was probably the best present I could have had.'

Charlie noticed that Tonks looked to be thinking very hard after that.

'So when is everyone's birthday?' Charlie asked, realising that he didn't know that important thing about half of his closest friends at Hogwarts.

'February 21st,' said Tonks.

'October 11th,' said Buck, they all remembered him telling them the whole week leading up to it that he was getting yet another new broomstick from his parents.

'November 14th,' said Annie.

'That's three days away!' cried Tonks, too late she realised she'd raised her voice and Madam Pince swooped down upon them, shooing them out of her library lest their loud voices disturb her precious books.

Tonks took Charlie to one side as they walked down to the Great Hall.

'I've got an idea for Annie's present.'

What that idea was didn't become clear until the day before Annie's birthday. They were sat down, once again, in the library after lunch when Tonks said that she needed to go to the Owlery to post something to her Mum.

'I'll come too,' offered Annie.

'No, no, that's okay,' Tonks assured her, a little too quickly. 'Charlie has a letter to post too, don't you Charlie?' he managed to keep quiet while he nodded, tears in his eyes as Tonks had just kicked him in the shins under the desk.

'We'll see you guys later,' Tonks called as they left the library. 'Chill out, we're leaving,' she muttered to Madam Pince with a roll of her eyes. Once they were well away from the library Charlie decided it was safe enough to ask what was going on.

'Annie's birthday present,' she said simply, but he was still none the wiser. 'C'mon!' together they ran through the castle to the Owlery.

'Seriously Tonks,' Charlie gasped for air as they reached to top of the Owlery steps, 'what's the plan?'

'You know the colour change charms we've been doing with Flitwick?' she asked. He nodded, still not following. 'Well I got the idea from Fergus and his green hair – we could charm the owls different colours! You know, because Annie loves owls and charms.'

Charlie nodded appreciatively, 'that's a hell of a lot better than the fudge Mum was sending me for her.' He looked around at the high storeys of the Owlery; all of the alcoves were crammed with feathered inhabitants. 'So how're we going to do this?'

Tonks' face split into an excited grin, a gleam in her eyes that Charlie would get to see a lot of over the coming years.

By the time the bell rang for the end of lunch the Owlery looked like a rainbow had vomited everywhere: most of the owls were different colours of blue, red, green, yellow, pink and purple, and large expanses of the walls were a similar story.

They surveyed their handiwork and grinned at each other.

After dinner they managed to talk Annie and the rest of the gang into going outside for a walk.

'It's a nice night,' Tonks chirped as she led the way out into the blustery November night. Don and Annie looked at her with concern. Buck grumbled about the chill.

Charlie checked his watch: nearly eight o'clock, almost time. A few minutes of small conversation later and Tonks cried out in feigned surprise:

'Look!' she pointed to the Owlery. The golden light from the windows basked the grounds around the tower in a warm glow. The others didn't know what they were meant to be looking at until the first owl emerged for its nightly hunt. A moment later an entire parliament of multicoloured owls streamed from the tower.

It was a glorious sight to see as the torchlight glinted off the rainbow of feathers, sparkling and shimmering as they set out into the night.

Annie was transfixed by the sight, even Buck stopped moaning.

'Happy birthday Annie!' Tonks cheered, giving her a hug.

'You did this for me?' Annie couldn't believe it.

'Me and Charlie,' Tonks shrugged before she was enveloped in a crushing hug. Charlie received similar thanks.

'It's amazing!' There were tears in Annie's eyes as the last of the owls set off into the darkness of the night.

'No problem,' he thought, rubbing a possibly bruised rib.

* * *

><p>The following morning everyone was talking about the multihued owls in the Owlery. Among the students it was spoken of with praise and admiration for what they thought was a great prank, but among the staff there was only suspicion as to who could have done it. Filch was especially angry as he loudly informed everyone he passed that he would be sweeping up coloured feathers for the rest of his life.<p>

As Charlie was packing up after Charms class Professor McGonagall walked in and began speaking to Professor Flitwick in an undertone.

'Whoever did it has a fair amount of skill.'

'It's a shame we'll have to give them a detention for it,' Flitwick added, 'it would be interesting to see them use that same skill in class.'

'Indeed Filius, though I have my suspicions: Nymphadora Tonks for one.'

'Weasley! What are you still doing here?' Flitwick squeaked.

'Just leaving now, sir,' Charlie practically ran from the room as McGonagall's eyes narrowed behind her square rimmed glasses.

'McGonagall's on to us,' he told Tonks breathlessly as he rejoined the school down at lunch.

'Crap.'

* * *

><p>That weekend saw Ravenclaw quickly beaten by an unexpectedly strong Hufflepuff Quidditch team. It looked like the Quidditch cup race would end up between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, as a badger haired Tonks kept reminding Charlie. She looked like she was imitating Professor Kelly's hairstyle, but insisted that it was in honour of Hufflepuff's win for the entire week after the match.<p>

During that time, Charlie and Tonks served detentions with an extremely grumpy Filch after McGonagall sussed them out as the perpetrators of the 'rainbow owl prank'. Their punishment involved sweeping the Owlery of all the mouse skeletons and removing the coloured patches of the walls where their spells had missed the owls – without magic. Charlie's arms felt like rubber for at least three days after and Tonks had sprained her wrist after slipping on some owl droppings.

Charlie celebrated Bill's 14th birthday too, with a box of treacle from home which the brothers shared between them. Bill also received a new jumper with a Gryffindor lion pattern.

As they headed into December they found themselves in detention once more after Charlie and Tonks had catnapped Mrs Norris and tried to turn her pink. When Professor McGonagall caught them, Charlie was at a loss as to explain why they were doing it, but Tonks stepped in: 'honestly Professor, we just thought she'd match Filch's curtains better this colour'.

Unfortunately neither Filch nor Professor McGonagall found that answer as amusing as Charlie did because the next day the pair was scrubbing the Entrance Hall floor after a particularly rainy evening.

Bill and Charlie owled home to say they were staying at Hogwarts for the holidays; Charlie was pleased to find that the rest of the gang were also staying.

'You can't miss your first Christmas at Hogwarts, can you?' Buck pointed out.

Hagrid was seen depositing huge fir trees around the castle which soon became covered in fake snow, everlasting icicles and even live fairies. Mistletoe sprouted up all over the place and it soon became common practice to see people staring at the ceiling en route to class, checking for any unexpected shrubbery.

* * *

><p>Charlie's 12th birthday was soon upon them and he was rudely awoken by Bill charging into his dorm and jumping onto his bed.<p>

'HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE BROTHER!' he yelled, Fergus yelled too as the noise woke him up. Charlie tiredly focused on his older brother, covering his ears.

'Go away Bill,' he mumbled. He'd had Astronomy the previous night and only had six hours of sleep.

'Something wrong Charlie?' Bill chuckled, 'I seem to remember you doing the same thing to me when we were younger. Well suit yourself; I'll just take all these presents away if you don't want them.'

That had Charlie's attention. He was up like a bolt. 'Presents?' There was a large pile of brightly wrapped gifts awaiting him at the foot of the bed.

'Open them!' Buck encouraged, pulling on a dressing gown. 'Open my one first – the blue box.'

Charlie opened a couple of his presents before breakfast. Buck had bought him a miniature model of the Chudley Cannons' seeker Galvin Gudgeon. He set it down on his bedside table and Gudgeon promptly fell off his model broom. From Bill he had a selection of items from Zonko's Joke shop, including a box of Dungbombs, Hiccough sweets and sugar quills. He got the usual haul of homemade sweets from his parents and even a box of Honeydukes chocolates from Aunt Muriel.

'Do you think they're poisoned?' he asked Bill as they scrutinised the "best wishes" that she had written in the card that accompanied the gift.

'I dunno,' Bill shrugged, 'maybe she's forgiven you for hiding those Filibuster's fireworks in her kitchen.' Charlie recalled her anger when she opened a kitchen cupboard and a firework shot out and exploded in her kitchen, leaving the smell of smoke in the room for weeks.

'I doubt it; I bet she just got me confused with you. Look, she hasn't even written my name in the card!'

It was a similar story at breakfast. The gang descended on him as soon as he sat down and loaded him with presents. Don had got him a Muggle book of dragon tales since Charlie had expressed his fascination with the creatures not long ago. Annie gave him a new quill the same fiery colour as his hair.

But the biggest surprise was from Tonks which he got that evening. She had been hinting at something all day but he didn't find out what it was until after dinner: she had smuggled a salamander from Care of Magical Creatures! He kept the bright red salamander in its box as he headed back up to the Gryffindor common-room that evening; the box contained some of the harmless flames that Tonks was good at casting.

He completely neglected his homework that night and instead set about making a den for the creature, which he decided to name Salvador.

Salvador the Salamander stayed in Charlie's possession for a whole week until someone noticed the smoke coming from the first year dorm and reported it. Ten house points each were taken from Charlie and Tonks, even though Professor Kettleburn said he didn't care "where the damn lizard had gone, as long as it didn't breed" and even promised that Charlie could come and check on Salvador whenever he wanted.

* * *

><p>The end of term arrived and the school emptied considerably until it was predominantly first years, staff, the ghosts and Peeves left in the castle. Their days were occupied by snowball fights in the grounds and relaxing in the Great Hall. No one sat in their houses for meals.<p>

A few days before Christmas, Charlie found himself sitting by Robin James and her friend Lucy Tarrick. He was a bit confused when they giggled and blushed every time he tried to talk to them. He didn't know what to make of it until he asked the gang about it later. Annie and Tonks rolled their eyes.

'Finally noticed, have you?' Annie sighed.

'At last! Robin keeps badgering me about you – it's really annoying,' Tonks moaned.

'What?' Charlie still didn't quite understand, 'She asks you about me? Why?'

'Are you being this dull on purpose?' Annie asked, scrutinising him. 'No, I don't think you are. That's amazing.'

'What's amazing?' He was getting frustrated now, not least because Robin and Lucy were now waving at him from across the grounds. His ears grew warm.

'He really doesn't get it,' Tonks was also staring at Charlie in amazement.

'Get what?' He looked at Don and Buck and found that they were also clueless.

'They fancy you!' Annie laughed, 'it's obvious.'

'Who? Robin and Lucy?'

'No, Filch and Mrs Norris! Of course Robin and Lucy!' Tonks shook her violet head. Charlie flushed red.

'Ah, he's got it now,' Annie noted.

'Yeah, he kind of looks like a burnt carrot now,' Tonks added, making Charlie blush even deeper red.

'Welcome to lobster territory,' Don grinned.

'Oh shut up,' Charlie hissed, trying desperately to stop the burning in his cheeks.

'So which one are you going to ask out?' Buck asked eagerly.

'Neither!' he shoved Buck into a tree. 'I barely know either of them!' It was true; he had probably spoken to Robin more than Lucy but that was only because she sat near them in Charms and Herbology.

Don and Buck thought the notion of anyone fancying Charlie was brilliant and kept making jokes until Charlie decided to slip a fistful of snow down the back of Buck's robes. 'Ow! Cold!' He cried, hopping on the spot as Charlie, Don, Annie and Tonks collapsed with laughter. Charlie wasn't laughing for long though, as Buck got revenge by dumping a mound of snow on top of him.


	8. February

Charlie woke on Christmas morning to the soft white light of a snowy dawn. As he pulled himself out of sleep his eyes rested on the small pile of presents below his feet. Buck and Fergus were already up and opening their presents. Reg was the only one who had returned home for the holidays.

'Merry Christmas Charlie!' they chimed, ripping the paper from their gifts. Charlie started on his pile. Bill, Kirley and Joey joined them, Bill was already wearing his Weasley jumper with a gold B on a red background. Charlie unwrapped the squashy package that could only be from his mother, and found his own jumper; a gold C on a red background. They headed down to breakfast in their pyjamas, Charlie and Bill in matching Weasley jumpers.

The Great Hall was magnificent in the soft light of the day. The icicles that hung from the enchanted candles glittered, and the floor was covered in a white layer of snow. The twelve Christmas trees with frosted branches and needles stood sentry around the hall.

The staff table had been widened to make it large enough to fit all the remaining students, and chairs had been added around it. Charlie found himself sitting opposite Tonks and to his embarrassment, beside Lucy Tarrick.

'Hi Charlie,' she smiled; now it was his turn to blush. He looked up to get an indication from Tonks as to what he should do but she was talking to Annie.

'Hi,' he settled on. _Good start._

Dumbledore invited them to eat up soon after so Charlie occupied himself with eating instead of talking and made a mental note to sit next to Don at Christmas lunch.

Once they had changed into warmer clothes Charlie and the gang headed out to the grounds where Bill showed them how to cast a Glacius charm on bits of the Lake, and they spent the rest of the day skating on the icy surface.

At lunch, Charlie sat by Tonks and pulled a cracker that went off like a cannon blast and a pirate captain's hat landed on the table.

'I think that's yours,' Charlie laughed. Tonks was already wearing an eye patch she had won in a cracker with Annie. Across the table Stan Shunpike had a feathered hat that made him look like a startled flamingo.

'Then you can have these,' Tonks said, taking the pirate hat and pushing a pack of Exploding Snap cards towards him, 'Merry Christmas!'

* * *

><p>The last few days of the Christmas holidays flew by. Before they knew it the rest of the school was back at Hogwarts and the Gryffindor first years had to surrender the comfy chairs by the fireplace once more.<p>

The gang was in an abandoned classroom off the Charms corridor one rainy day when Charlie considered seeking advice about the Robin and Lucy situation. He had succeeded in making conversation with Robin in Charms the other day and she seemed pretty nice. She had even asked him to walk her to Defence Against the Dark Arts class.

Annie was settled on a desk reading a Charms textbook. Don was also reading – a thick hardback book that his grandparents had sent him for Christmas by a Muggle author named Shakespeare. Tonks knelt on the floor attempting to build a house of cards with Charlie's Exploding Snap deck; the added challenge was that the cards had been _engorgio_-ed so that each card was now the size of Charlie's hand. So far she had three floors and they looked pretty stable.

'Where's Buck?' Don asked.

'Detention,' Charlie answered. 'He kept calling Professor McGonagall "pussy cat" so she gave him a week's detention.'

Tonks laughed.

'What did you want to ask us about, Charlie?' Annie prompted.

'Uh,' he didn't really know what to say.

'Ooh, is it about Robin?' Tonks asked, looking up from the cards. 'You looked like you were getting on great in Charms, didn't they Annie?'

'Yes, you did! We all saw you walk her to Defence.' Don nodded helpfully, getting back to his book.

'I was wondering what I should do next,' Charlie thought he sounded really lame, but Annie's eyes lit up and he found himself being given a torrent of advice, none of which sounded great. Sit by her in class? _Why would he do that when he could sit by Buck?_ Hold her hand? _Gross, she's a girl!_ Help her with homework? _If he actually understood half of his subjects, maybe._

Charlie was saved from more helpful suggestions by Tonks accidentally knocking over her house of cards which collapsed with a flash and a series of loud explosions.

Professor Flitwick waddled in to find all four of them on the floor, laughing. Tonks failed miserably at keeping a straight face as Flitwick told her off for being distracting. To be fair, it's hard not to laugh when your hair is smoking and your eyebrows have been burnt off.

* * *

><p>'Don, you've been reading that book for like a week now,' Buck noted.<p>

'It's a good book,' he didn't look up as he turned the page. They were back in the Library and everyone but Don was trying to finish off the mountain of homework that had steadily built up since the start of term.

'What is it?' Don shut the book and passed it over to Buck, who looked at it with distaste as he read the title. Buck disliked any book unrelated to Quidditch by definition.

'_Hamlet _by_ William Shakespeare_,' he passed it back, 'who's that?'

Don rolled his eyes. 'Seriously? He's one of the best Muggle playwrights ever.' Buck shrugged. 'My grandparents sent me this as their "we get that you're a wizard" present, just because this one has three witches in it. They're called "The Wyrd Sisters".'

'Cool band name,' Tonks added, lying on her stomach, absently flicking through a massive version of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi. Charlie sat with Robin, who he had sort-of asked out the day before.

'Do you think?' Don considered the name, 'Myron and Kirley were just saying yesterday that our band needs a name that's a bit more catchy than "Wagtail and Friends".'

'Yeah, that name sucks.'

'How is the band going?'

'Not too bad, I've talked my parents into coming shopping for a magic bass when I'm next home as a joint birthday and Christmas present,' he grinned, 'but for now I've borrowed one from the music class and we're starting to write our own stuff. We're thinking of doing gigs next year – mainly covers of Muggle and magical stuff.'

'Sounds cool,' Buck still eyed the Shakespeare uncertainly.

* * *

><p>For the first time at Hogwarts Charlie began to hate his lessons. Every professor was now gearing them towards exam preparation so Charlie barely had any time to relax. Add to that his new 'relationship' with Robin, which was going better than expected, Charlie was feeling drained. Then, as February dawned a new challenge was introduced: Valentine's Day.<p>

Charlie had never had to celebrate Valentine's Day – it was always a day of dread when Aunt Muriel would descend upon the Burrow when Charlie's parents went out for the evening. Muriel would then spend the evening moaning at Charlie and his siblings about how she'd had to turn down the Chief Something of Somewhere, or the Grand Something Else of Merlin-knows-where, to spend the evening babysitting them.

'They've been dying to spend an evening with me for decades,' she would squawk, ignoring their looks of disgust, 'I've practically been beating them off with a stick!'

But now Charlie had a reason to celebrate Valentine's Day for himself, though if he was honest with himself, he didn't even like Robin in that way. Sure he liked her as a person, but he didn't feel totally at ease like he did around Tonks, or Don, or Annie, or Buck.

'You're only eleven,' Bill pointed out when Charlie asked him about what he should do for Valentine's. 'You're not going to be in love with your first girlfriend anyway.'

To which Charlie snorted, 'I'm not in love with anyone!'

Bill chuckled.

But when Valentine's Day finally dawned Charlie had it all worked out.

He stepped into the Great Hall and scanned the sea of heads for the usual violent pink shade that was Tonks and instead found it to be turquoise blue. Robin was nowhere to be seen. Upon closer inspection Tonks was also not looking her usual bubbly self, in fact she was surveying the heart shaped confetti on the table with disgust.

'I thought you'd be a fan of Valentine's Day.' He commented.

'What made you think that?' she asked, looking at him as if he was crazy.

He had no idea. 'Well, you're a girl, right?'

'I hadn't noticed,' she replied dryly, turning back to her toast.

'I just meant, uh, I meant that,' he tried to backtrack quickly, he failed. 'Never mind. Is Robin here yet?'

'No, she and Alex are fussing over her hair. Please, for Merlin's sake, say something nice about it. They wouldn't shut up last night – it was all "Charlie this" and "Charlie that" and "hey Tonks, you hang out with Charlie all the time, do you think he'll like this?" Ergh, even Alex was getting sick of it by one o'clock this morning.'

'Why don't you like Valentine's Day?' Charlie changed subject.

'It's a stupid day that gives couples an excuse to be really over-the-top about how they feel about each other. I don't see why you need a day to be in love, if you're with someone you should be in love with them all the time, not just on Valentine's Day,' she took a breath and angrily stuffed some fried egg in her mouth. 'I just can't wait for the weekend – Ravenclaw vs Slytherin – it's going to be a great game!'

Before Charlie could get sucked into a Quidditch related discussion Robin bounced over and gave him a brilliant smile, he smiled back. It was kind of awkward, just standing there, smiling, but Robin thankfully thought of something to say.

'Have you got anything planned for later?'

'Uh yeah, I hope you'll like it, I put a lot of thought into it,'

'I'm sure it'll be great,' she smiled and seated herself beside Tonks. 'See you later Charlie!'

Charlie headed off to the Gryffindor table before he could burst into flames of embarrassment as Bill wolf-whistled at him.

After dinner that evening Charlie told Robin to meet him in the Entrance Hall, and then raced up to Gryffindor tower to change and make some last minute preparations.

On his bed Charlie found a little box of Honeydukes' chocolates, small candles, two glasses and a small bottle of Butterbeer, all wrapped in a Gryffindor bed sheet. Charlie had asked Bill to find the stuff for him. He grabbed the sheet, bottles and all, stuffed it carefully into his school bag, and headed back down to the Entrance Hall.

He decided that the safest route down would be the portrait of Godric Gryffindor on the seventh-floor landing. Bill had shown it to Charlie just last week.

'Starshine,' he told the portrait of a man with a similar mane of red hair to Charlie, and a ruby-pomelled sword.

'Have a nice evening, young brave one.' Gryffindor told Charlie as his portrait swung forward, revealing a steep passageway down to the Entrance Hall side-passageway.

Out in the grounds there was a willow tree beside the lake that Charlie took Robin to. He spread the bed sheet over the grass and invited her to sit down. It was quite awkward at first, Charlie thought, but Robin started the conversation as Charlie lit some little candles with the incendio charm and placed them nearby. Robin was very good at starting conversations.

'Your hair looks nice,' Charlie told her, remembering what Tonks had said at breakfast. Robin beamed.

'You think so?' she blushed.

'Yeah, really nice.'

Charlie did have to admit that Robin was pretty, in a delicate and porcelain way. With her wide hazel eyes, creamy coloured skin, and chestnut hair which flowed down past her shoulders. Not that he would ever have told anyone that he thought she was pretty. Especially not Don or Buck. While they talked they saw a number of other couples out and about in the grounds.

'Butterbeer?' Charlie offered, prizing the cork from the top of the bottle. The cork flew off with a loud bang and the foamy top exploded over him. Robin squealed and Charlie leapt up to stop the bubbles going all over his robes. When the Butterbeer stopped foaming and Charlie sat back down, he found that Robin was chuckling at him. He imagined that he'd looked pretty funny and joined in too.

Together they sipped Butterbeer and nibbled on the Honeydukes chocolate, making small talk about their lessons and which teachers had given them the most homework to do. Charlie actually found himself enjoying the evening and was slightly disappointed when Robin yawned and said that she was tired.

Charlie walked her back to her common-room. Well, it was actually the kitchen corridor, but she said the common-room was there. He even managed not to freak out when she held his hand. He was quite pleased about that. Though his ears did go red, which she noticed.

Charlie wished her a goodnight as they stood beside a stack of barrels, then headed back up to Gryffindor Tower.

Buck, Reg and Fergus were still up and waiting for him when he got back.

'How did it go?'

'What did you do?'

'Did you kiss her?'

'Eww, no, I didn't kiss her!' Charlie grimaced, throwing himself down on his bed, 'we just talked.'

That only served to interest them even more.

'What did you talk about?'

'What did she say?'

'Did she talk about me?'

'Why would she talk about you Ferg?' Charlie chuckled, enjoying the attention.

Fergus blushed and threw a pillow at him.

'So you just talked? That's boring,' Reg said, lying back down on his bed.

'Yeah, well at least I have a girlfriend,' Charlie retorted.


	9. Quidditch

The next few weeks flew by and before Charlie knew it March had arrived with an owl home to wish little Ron a happy fifth birthday. The small break in constant homework and revision came in the form of Quidditch matches. The Quidditch Cup Race was between Gryffindor and Slytherin, with hopes running high for Gryffindor to beat Hufflepuff. If Hufflepuff won they would overtake Gryffindor in the race, but if Gryffindor won and Slytherin lost to Hufflepuff in May then Gryffindor would win the Cup.

'We're going to win,' Tonks told Charlie as they climbed the stands.

Charlie laughed and shook his head. 'You wish.'

'So where's Robin?' Tonks asked.

'Sitting with Lucy in the Ravenclaw stands; she's not much of a Quidditch fan.'

'What? You've got to get rid of her mate,' Buck nodded sagely. Charlie ignored him.

Myron's commentary was even more outrageous than usual in an obvious display of house favouritism as the teams stepped out onto the pitch.

'Ladies and gentlemen! Here come the Gryffindors! Ryan, Hunter, Roberts, Dent, Jones, Jenkins aaaaand Rawlins!' The crowd cheered and banners waved, the Gryffindor lion waving in the sun and wind. The Gryffindor team lapped the pitch at speed and hovered over the centre circle.

'And now, I present for your entertainment and adoration – THE HUFFLEPUFFS!' Tonks screamed in Charlie's ear, sporting the badger look once more, Don jumped up and down with his yellow and black banner.

'Spungen! Dorny! Mullet! Campbell! Campbell! Dunstan! Aaaaand Spinks!' The Hufflepuff team circled the stands before taking their places opposite the Gryffindor team.

'The captains, Phillip "The Sphinx" Spinks and Gwenog Jones, shake hands before the match begins!' Myron told them. Spinks was lanky yet strongly built with dark hair that seemed to be permanently windswept. His broad shoulders and muscled arms contrasted severely with his long and thin legs, Charlie thought he was built like a triangle. Spinks was very clever at team tactics – hence his nickname "Sphinx". He swung his beater's bat over his shoulder as he shook hands with the serious faced Gwenog Jones who looked as though she was trying to crush him in her mind. All this, Charlie saw through his binoculars.

'I thought Jones and Spinks were going out,' Annie wondered aloud.

'Well Jones isn't going to give him any special treatment if they are.' Buck assured her. 'She's purely professional.'

'Not that he needs any special treatment,' Tonks added with a dig in Charlie's ribs. 'Hufflepuff are going to kick your butts.'

As the captains took to the air once more Madam Hooch opened the ball crate.

'This will be a tough one between Gryffindor and the just Hufflepuffs!' Myron announced to the crowd, 'yet only the best team will triumph in this game of Lions and Badgers,'

'Wagtail!' Professor McGonagall's voice interrupted, 'are you commentating on a Quidditch match or narrating a tragedy!'

'Sorry Professor, AND THEY'RE OFF! Mullet takes the Quaffle for Hufflepuff's first possession! Go on Olivia! She still won't go out with me. But she's past Dent and Roberts! Only Hunter and Ryan hover between her and those hoops! Can she make it? OH! SO CLOSE! A sneaky bludger from Jenkins and the Quaffle passes to Roberts, he's off towards the Hufflepuff hoops! Drop it! Go on!'

'WAGTAIL! YOU'RE MEANT TO BE NEUTRAL!'

'TACKLED! By Angus Campbell, well done Angus! Hufflepuff have possession once mo- Roberts has it again! He passes to Hunter and it's only her and Spungen now! SAVE IT SPONGE! HE HAS! IT'S STILL NIL-NIL HERE AT THE TENSEST MATCH OF THE SEASON!'

'Stop being dramatic Wagtail!' McGonagall ordered.

'Still no sign of the snitch as a bludger narrowly avoids Lenox Campbell as he searches the skies!'

The match seemed to go on forever before Katherine Hunter finally scored for Gryffindor, then the match really heated up.

'OUCH! That must have hurt! How Roberts is still on his broom after that bludger I do not know. Good shot from Spinks! And Jones has retaliated! Spinks only just makes the parry back to Jones! Wow their relationship must be tense. Now Jenkins has joined in! That bludger's like a hot potato, it's only a matter of time before it makes contact with one of those beaters! Spinks is really up against it now! Where's Dunstan to help? He's got trouble of his own keeping a bludger away from Spungen so he can save this next shot. OH! He missed it! TWENTY-ZERO TO GRYFFINDOR! AND SPINKS HAS DONE IT! TAKE THAT JONES! YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE BADGERS AND GET AWAY WITH I-'

Professor McGonagall wrenched the magical microphone away from Myron as Gwenog Jones crashed to the ground cradling a potentially broken arm. Spinks quickly landed to check on her.

Hufflepuff redoubled their efforts and it was 50-50 with no sign of the snitch. All Campbell and Rawlins had to do was avoid bludgers until-

'Was that the snitch?' The whisper sped around the stands as the two seekers raced after the tiny gold ball.

Dunstan aimed a bludger at Rawlins who twisted in mid air to avoid it. Jones, back on the pitch despite Madam Pomfrey's advice, returned the favour by catching Campbell's outstretched arm with a bludger. Campbell span out of control in pain, veering wide into Rawlins. In the confusion the snitch was lost from sight.

'Foul!' Tonks cried, 'surely that's a foul!'

'Perfectly legal,' Charlie told her as the game resumed.

'SEVENTY - FIFTY TO HUFFLEPUFF!'

'EIGHTY - SEVENTY TO GRYFFINDOR!'

And so it continued, well past lunch time. The players were getting tired and the play became more risky. Madam Hooch was awarding penalties left, right and centre.

'ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY - ONE HUNDRED TO HUFFLEPUFF AS MULLET SCORES THE PENALTY FOR BLATCHING!'

'Who wants bets on a weeklong match?' Buck nudged Charlie.

'Nah, two days at the most,' Charlie told him.

Evening fell and the wind picked up. Charlie couldn't imagine how the chasers still had energy to stay on their brooms, let alone tackle and shoot.

Tonks was falling asleep on Charlie's shoulder and Annie was curled up on the seat beside Don.

'Tonks! The snitch!'

Her eyes snapped open, 'Wazza score?' She demanded blearily, swaying on her feet.

'One hundred and eighty – one hundred,' Charlie admitted.

'To Hufflepuff? Yes!' Tonks cheered.

Rawlins was gaining on the snitch, just a few feet away, arm outstretched and fingers straining.

'GET BACK UP THERE CAMPBELL!' Myron was yelling. Professor McGonagall, beside him, no longer cared about being neutral. She was on her feet urging Rawlins on.

Feet became inches and the snitch weaved and bobbed around the pitch. Rawlins and Campbell bobbed and weaved after it, Campbell losing air as Rawlins crept ever closer until finally–

'He's done it! Richard Rawlins has caught the snitch for Gryffindor!' Myron sounded just a little bit relieved through his disappointment. 'That means the final score here is two hundred and fifty – one hundred and eighty to Gryffindor! GRYFFINDOR WIN!'

The crowd went wild as everyone, Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws and Slytherins included celebrated the end of the match.

'Don't forget to pop back in May for the Hufflepuff versus Slytherin match – will those sneaky snakes succeed to stay in the Quidditch Cup Race?' It didn't sound like Myron's heart was in it as he wished them all a good evening and turned off the magical microphone.

Dinner was quick and the Gryffindor after party was even quicker as Professor McGonagall woke half of the house up in the early hours of the morning and told them all to get off the sofas, out of the common room and up to their dorms. Gwenog Jones had been mysteriously absent from the celebrations. Charlie dragged his feet up to the top floor of the tower and collapsed on his bed, sound asleep.

* * *

><p>After the excitement of the Quidditch, March passed at a crawling pace as Charlie found himself spending most of his time hunched over a desk, pouring over essay after essay on topics from the Goblin Rebellion of 1236 to the theory of switching spells. The other first years were also feeling the strain. Tonks ended up with pockets full of buttons as she practised transfiguring insects into buttons at every available opportunity.<p>

The practical lessons, like Astronomy, were no better. Charlie even pretended to faint in one lesson after naming Saturn's rings became too tedious to continue. According to Professor Lawrence it is "not amusing to pretend to faint and proceed to blame it on the _altitude _of the Astronomy Tower". Tonks and Don thought it was a brilliant excuse when he told them.

Another thing that made March a frustrating month for Charlie was that Robin decided to break up with him. It didn't have much of an effect on him as they never really hung out, he just sat by her in some classes, but Buck and Fergus' teasing was really annoying.

'Don't worry about it little brother,' Bill comforted, 'plenty of time for all that later,' Charlie rolled his eyes and continued to thrash his big brother at Wizard's Chess.

A week later Charlie saw Robin being escorted to class by the Ravenclaw, Martin Amerinus.

'He's very clever,' Annie admitted when he pointed it out.

'He's annoying,' Buck sniffed.

But on the other hand, their pranks certainly did pick up after that as Charlie and Tonks found themselves in detention every other week, occasionally accompanied by Don or Buck. Never Annie, she was too good and careful to mess around removing Hogwarts toilet seats from their respective toilets and planting dungbombs in precarious places in the dungeons.

Tonks showed Charlie how to get into the kitchens (she had found out from a Hufflepuff sixth year) and from then on their pranks included adding Belch Powder from Zonko's Joke Shop to the Slytherin's food. Even Professor McGonagall had to suppress a smile when she saw Snape's face as he was surrounded by angry and burping students demanding an antidote to their chicken drumsticks.

Buck managed to sneak a vial of Babbling Beverage from the Potions classroom which was even funnier than the Belch Powder because the Slytherins couldn't articulate what their problem was. Somehow Snape found out who was responsible because Charlie, Tonks and Buck found themselves scrubbing the dungeons a week later.

'Why do we always get the scrubbing?' Tonks complained to Charlie as she rinsed her sponge for the hundredth time.

April came and went with rainfall so heavy that the Black Lake burst its banks and the Giant Squid had to be precariously levitated back into the depths by the teachers, with a massive crowd of students watching on, when it became beached on the bank.

Before they knew it the exams were a month away. These exams were important because the first years needed to pass them to progress to their second year. Savage, the Gryffindor fifth year prefect began sending people out of the common room for being too loud while he was studying.

'My Ordinary Wizarding Levels are more important than your chess game!' He told Kirley and Joey one afternoon.

'Well why don't you go and study in the library instead, this is a c_ommon room_ not a study room,' Kirley pointed out. Savage looked savage at his authority being questioned by a third year with messy shoulder length black hair.

May brought intermittent sunshine to the castle grounds as the Hufflepuff versus Slytherin match approached. Tensions ran high in the castle as Slytherin needed to beat Hufflepuff to win the Quidditch cup, so it became standard to see groups of students protectively circling the Hufflepuff and Slytherin players as they walked to and from their classes.

Connington, the big Slytherin beater ended up in the Hospital Wing from a bad Confundus charm when a duel erupted in the fourth floor corridor. Tonks, who had been a patient when he was brought in, said that he kept asking for milk and hissing when Madam Pomfrey came near.

When the day of the match finally dawned, the entire atmosphere of the castle felt as though it could be cut with a knife. At breakfast the Ravenclaw table looked anxious, as though a bomb might go off at anytime; they were sat between the Hufflepuff and Slytherin tables.

A minor skirmish broke out on the way down to the pitch: Thorfinn Rowle, a first year Slytherin, had decided to curse Augustus Pye, a good natured Hufflepuff first year, because Pye had waved his Hufflepuff flag at Rowle's group of Slytherins.

Charlie couldn't imagine what the players must feel like. They had been allowed to leave the hall before the rest of the school in case a mass duel broke out.

'AND HERE THEY COME!' Myron announced to the screaming crowd. Then the match began.

* * *

><p>Charlie Weasley was in a daze. Hufflepuff had beaten Slytherin 160-20 within the first half an hour of play. Campbell, the Hufflepuff Seeker, had shot like a bullet after the snitch, and by the time Kiely had realised what was happening, the game was over.<p>

But that wasn't all. As a result of Hufflepuff's win, Slytherin was out of the Quidditch Cup running ensuring Gryffindor's victory with one game left to play! The post-match after party ran for a night and a day in celebration. Bill and some of the older Gryffindors took it in turns to sneak food up from the kitchens for the House, and even Professor McGonagall turned a blind eye when the Gryffindor table was notably empty for breakfast, lunch, and dinner on the Sunday.

Then the following week was the final Quidditch match of the season: Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw. The teams put on a good show, with Gryffindor seventh years Hunter and Rawlins doing an emotional lap of the pitch for their last ever Hogwarts Quidditch game. And when Charlie saw Gwenog Jones lifting that large silver Quidditch Cup high in the air, glowing with pride, a part of Charlie yearned to trade places.

In the stands, Tonks and Don cheered along with Charlie, Buck and Annie as the Gryffindors and the Ravenclaws did a final loop of the stands before leaving the pitch.

That night Charlie dreamed of flying.

He was on a broom in scarlet Quidditch robes, dodging bludgers and chasers as he raced after a tiny speck of gold that always managed to stay that little bit out of his reach. He inched closer to the snitch, his fingers brushing its golden casing. He'd caught it! He waved his arm triumphantly and the crowd went wild. He saw his friends in the stands waving lion flags with his name on. He saw his parents and his brothers and little Ginny, too. They were cheering and his father was loudly telling everyone '_That's my son! That's my son!_' Charlie landed and Professor Dumbledore was striding towards him, Quidditch Cup in hand. When Charlie lifted the Cup over his head the shining sun caught it and the silver blazed white. Charlie was floating with elation, flying on his own excitement and energy.

He rolled over in his sleep, a wide smile that no one saw spread across his face. And Charlie Weasley slept on.


	10. End of the Year

'Merlin's beard, that was solid!' Tonks yawned as the first years emerged from the Great Hall, having just finished their History of Magic exam.

'Tell me about it,' Charlie sighed, stretching his arms out and almost smacking Boris Zolinski, a messy-haired Slytherin, in the face.

'Watch it!' he yelled angrily.

Charlie mumbled an apology as Zolinski glared at him.

'What did you put for question 21.b?' Annie asked Don anxiously.

'Which one was that?' he replied uncertainly, 'you know, not everyone memorises their exam paper.'

'"Name one unusual method that Muggles developed to ascertain whether a person possessed magical abilities,"' Annie supplied at once.

'Oh, uh, I had no idea on that one; I said they compared the weight of a duck and the person. Because ducks float in water, like wood.'

Charlie, Buck, Tonks and Annie stared at him.

'What?'

'Where did you get that rubbish from?' Buck asked incredulously.

'A Muggle film,' Don shrugged.

Tonks considered this. 'You know, even though my Dad's Muggleborn, Muggles really do amaze me with what they come up with.'

* * *

><p>Charlie couldn't remember a feeling of such relief as when he stepped out into the sun-drenched castle grounds after his last exam. The only thing that came remotely close was when his parents returned from a week away and Charlie and Bill had been left at the mercy of Aunt Muriel and her incessant complaining.<p>

'Now we just need to wait a week and a bit to find out if we've passed or whether we've failed out first year at Hogwarts,' Buck grinned sarcastically.

Charlie rolled his eyes. 'If anyone's failing this year it'll be you Buck.'

'Why's that Charlie?'

'C'mon mate, you "revised" by reading the latest copy of _Which Broomstick_ hidden in your Transfiguration book,'

Buck blushed a little. 'I didn't think you'd noticed,' he said as they reached the willow tree overlooking the Black Lake.

'Well, truth be told, I wasn't actually revising Astronomy notes either. I was reading a book on dragons that Hagrid let me borrow.'

Buck laughed.

'Did you guys see my Charms exam?' Don interrupted, 'my pineapple looked more like a trifle by the time it was done dancing!'

'What did you do to it?'

Don shrugged, 'I just cast _saltantis_ and it started dancing, like it's supposed to, but then it got faster and faster and just turned to mush all over Flitwick!'

They all burst out laughing, imagining the little Charms professor covered in pineapple.

'That's still not as bad as my Transfiguration exam,' Tonks compared, 'my hedgehog that I was turning into a pincushion turned out to have chimera qualities and started shooting its quills at McGonagall.'

The gang compared horrific exam stories until the smell of dinner from the Great Hall beckoned them back indoors.

'It's weird to think that our first year at Hogwarts is nearly over,' Tonks murmured as they headed back to the castle.

'Promise me you'll all write,' Annie ordered them.

'Hey, we've not gone anywhere yet!' Charlie laughed.

'I know, but when we're home for the holidays, you must all write,' she insisted.

'And I'll invite you lot over!' Charlie said, 'you can all come over and stay at mine!'

'Or mine!' Buck added.

'I don't think we'd all fit into my house, so I don't think we'll go there,' Don shrugged.

'Mine or Buck's it is then!' Charlie exclaimed as they were swallowed up by the oak doors of Hogwarts castle. He was already planning all the fun things they could do during the summer at The Burrow.

* * *

><p>Charlie made his way down to the end-of-year feast with the rest of the school, in great spirits - the Great Hall was all decked out in the Gryffindor colours of scarlet and gold – they had won the House Cup! A massive banner behind the High Table depicted the Gryffindor lion, roaring in its victory. Professor McGonagall was beaming as Professor Snape shot daggers at her from the other side of Professor Dumbledore's empty throne.<p>

Once the students were all settled down and Dumbledore had taken his seat, the hall fell silent.

'One more year is over!' Dumbledore smiled, 'and a good year it has been too! I hope that we have over the course of this year, to quote our School Song, taught you things worth knowing… So now you have an entire summer to get them bare and full of air once more!

'One last thing before we get started on this delicious feast – the House Cup needs awarding, and the points stand thus: in fourth place, Slytherin, with three hundred and nineteen points!' The rest of the hall clapped politely. Snape looked like he'd eaten a lemon.

'In third, Ravenclaw, with four hundred and thirty-two points!' The Ravenclaws gave a little cheer, pleased that they had at least distanced themselves from Slytherin by over a hundred points.

'Second, Hufflepuff! With five hundred and fifty-two!' Charlie saw Tonks and Don clapping and cheering, Tonks' hair its usual violent shade of pink. Professor Sprout was clapping excitedly from beside Professor McGonagall.

'And finally, in first place, the winners of this year's House Cup – with seven hundred and sixteen points – Gryffindor!' The table on the far left of the Hall exploded with cheers. Charlie was on his feet and people around him were yelling and waving their hats in the air.

It was the happiest moment of Charlie's life.

* * *

><p>After the excitement of winning the House Cup, Charlie had completely forgotten that their exam results were still to come. He was even more surprised to find that he had passed everything, even Potions, with a decent mark. The gang had hoped that some of the Slytherins would have failed, meaning they couldn't come back next year, but sadly the entire year scraped through.<p>

Before they knew it, their wardrobes were empty and their trunks were full. Tonks almost broke her arm falling over Robin's trunk, and Professor McGonagall handed out notes to all students, warning them not to use magic over the holidays. Hagrid took them down to the fleet of little boats and set off across the lake, and then they were on the gleaming Hogwarts Express once more.

'Welcome back to your Hogsmeade to London service, I hope you all had a great year at Hogwarts!' The train conductor announced as Charlie, Tonks, Buck, Don and Annie all piled into a compartment. They talked, laughed, joked and planned as the wild Scottish countryside cleared up into ordered buildings, and signs of the Muggle world appeared. They swapped their Wizarding robes for Muggle jackets, and the train pulled smoothly into Platform 9 ¾ of Kings Cross Station.

'Chully! Chully!' Charlie hopped off the train and heard his little brother Ron calling his name. Easily recognisable with their fiery red hair, Charlie spotted the Weasley clan in an instant. Grinning from ear to ear Charlie ran over to meet his family.

'Oh, Charlie!' His mother cried as she enveloped him in a rib-crushing hug. Charlie wouldn't admit it, but he'd missed her hugs over the past school year.

'C'mon Mum, you're embarrassing me,' he mumbled into her shoulder.

When she finally let go of him, he introduced his friends to his family.

'Guys, this is my Mum, Dad, little brothers Percy, Fred and George, Ron and little sister Ginny. Everyone, this is Tonks, Buck Cooper, Don Tremlett and Annie Stark.'

'Nice to meet you dears,' Molly Weasley smiled, 'Oh Bill!' She bustled off to snare her eldest son in her trademark hug.

'Mum!' Tonks sped off to meet her parents and fell into her father's arms. Literally, she had tripped on a crack in the pavement. Obviously her father was used to it and caught her before she hit the ground. Tonks' mother looked rather intimidating, unlike her daughter, but as she came closer Charlie realised that she actually had a very kind face. Tonks' father was smiling at everything as his daughter chatted excitedly to him.

Then everyone began spotting their parents and bringing them over.

'Dad, can I invite my friends over sometime during the summer please?' Charlie asked his father quietly. Arthur looked to his wife.

'I think that would be alright, don't you Molly?'

'Yes, of course, but we'll have to check when Bill's friends are coming over too.'

That was all Charlie needed.

'They said yes! I'll owl you all the dates and you can all come over my house! It'll be great! I can show you the orchard where we can play Quidditch, and the garden with the gnomes, it'll be so cool!' He could hardly contain his excitement as the giant crowd of Weasleys and their friends' families all surged towards the magical barrier of Platform 9 ¾s.

'Wait there a moment miss,' the station guard ordered. Charlie cast a look behind at Tonks as he and his father passed through the magical barrier. A moment later they were back in the Muggle world.

'Oooh! What's that they've got there?' Arthur asked as a passing Muggle spoke into a large black object that looked like a brick.

'That's called a mobile,' Don told him, as he and Tonks came through the barrier together. 'It's like a two-way radio. You talk into it.'

'Fascinating!'

'Come on Arthur, we'd best be going,' Mrs Weasley said to her husband. 'It was nice to meet you all.' She waved goodbye and led her children out of the station.

'Nice to see you again Ted,' Mr Weasley said to Mr Tonks.

'You too Arthur, and I'm sure Dora will be able to come over to yours sometime in the holiday,'

Charlie said goodbye to his friends, 'See you soon guys!' he called, following his father out of the station to their waiting turquoise Ford Anglia.

'So how was your first year at Hogwarts Charlie?' Mrs Weasley asked as Mr Weasley reversed the car out of the station.

Charlie grinned at his mother. 'Amazing!'

* * *

><p><em><strong>Bonus points to whoever identifies the Muggle film Don was referencing! Leave your answers in a review...<strong>_


	11. Summertime

'MUM!' Charlie yelled, launching himself down the spiralling Burrow staircase. 'SOMEONE'S HERE!'

'Alright dear,' Mrs Weasley called from the kitchen as Charlie jumped the last five steps and careened through the kitchen to reach the front door. He'd been up in Bill's fourth floor bedroom, eagerly watching for visitors out of the window. He'd been sat there for at least an hour, watching twelve o'clock tick closer. Exactly on the dot of twelve, two figures had appeared by the gate of The Burrow.

Charlie hurdled a couple of chickens as he ran to meet the visitor.

'Hey Charlie!'

'Hey Buck!' Charlie grinned at his fellow Gryffindor. He'd been waiting for this day for weeks. He'd owled his friends as soon as his parents had said when he could have them over. He had been quite worried that Errol was going to crash land before he'd delivered the letters, but the old and unreliable bird had actually come through – sure he'd needed about a week's sleep before being able to fly again, but at least he had done it.

'Anyone else here yet?' Buck adjusted his backpack.

'Nope, you're the first! Come on in, I'll show you around.'

'Okay, bye Dad!' Buck waved at his tall blond father and followed Charlie back across the front garden. As they avoided stepping on chickens they heard the tell-tale _crack_ of Buck's Dad disapparating.

'Hello!' Charlie's Mum said when she saw Buck. 'Buckley isn't it?'

Buck nodded. 'People call me Buck though, only Buckley when I'm in trouble.'

'It's lovely to see you dear. Charlie, why don't you take Buck up to your room so he can drop his bag off?'

Charlie did just that. On the way up to Charlie's room on the first floor they saw Bill coming down the stairs with little Ron on his shoulders.

'Oh hey Buck!' he said when he saw them, 'Charlie, I've moved the spare beds into your room so you two, Don and I can all squish in there. The girls can have my room – don't worry, I've cleaned it.' Bill reassured him before Charlie could protest. 'Seriously, even Mum would be impressed by my Muggle cleaning of that room.'

When Charlie and Buck returned to the kitchen a purple haired Tonks and her father were sat at the dinner table.

'Tonks!'

'Hey Charlie, Buck,' she stood up from the table, almost knocking her chair over, and gave them both a hug. 'How's your summer been so far?'

The two boys shrugged, 'alright,' Charlie admitted. He'd been trying to teach Ginny to say different words for a couple of weeks. He was very impressed that she could now identify a gnome, a chicken, and Charlie. Though she did sometimes get "Charlie" and "chicken" mixed up.

'How about you kids go and wait for the others outside in the garden?' Mrs Weasley smiled, 'Ted and I are just having a little chat about old times.'

Charlie rolled his eyes, 'C'mon guys, I'll show you around.'

Soon after, Annie and Don turned up together in a proper Muggle car.

'It's just as well my Dad is at work,' Charlie told them, 'or your parents would never be able to leave – he's obsessed with Muggles.'

'Everyone's here Mum,' Charlie called in his mother's direction, 'I'll just show them around!'

'Lunch is in an hour!' She called back.

'Come on guys,' Charlie beckoned, 'I'll show you the Quidditch paddock!'

* * *

><p>'Charlie!' Mrs Weasley called from the front door, an almost three year old Ginny in her arms. 'Where are you and your friends going now?'<p>

'I was just going to show them around the house,' Charlie shrugged.

'Well before you do that, supper will be ready soon and we won't all fit in here,' she gestured to the kitchen behind her while Ginny made a grabbing motion at her brother with her podgy little hands. 'If you could de-gnome the garden then we can all eat outside when your father gets home. Get Bill to give you a hand.'

Charlie was just about to rejoin his friends when his mother called him back.

'And can you take Ginny as well? She just keeps crawling around under my feet while I'm cooking, thanks Charlie. Oh, do you want to use Lockhart's book?' she added.

'I know how to de-gnome a garden Mum,' Charlie said, rolling his eyes as he took Ginny from his mother's arms.

Laden with his youngest sibling he rejoined Tonks, Buck, Annie and Don as his mother returned to her busy stove.

'Have any of you de-gnomed a garden before?' he asked them. They answered with blank stares.

'BILL!' Charlie yelled. Ginny scrunched up her tiny face at the noise.

'Sssshhhh!' she ordered.

The fourth floor window opened and Bill's long red haired head poked out of it. 'What?'

'Mum wants the garden de-gnomed!'

'Why can't you do it?'

'I can, but Mum wants you to help!'

'Fine, I'll be down in a minute!' Bill called back down, retreating back into his room.

'Right this way ladies and gents,' Charlie smiled, leading his friends behind the Burrow to their large and busy garden. He put Ginny on an upturned flowerpot in the corner of the garden.

The Weasley's garden was massive. There were plants everywhere, with weeds creeping up in the spaces between flower beds. The grass needed a good cutting and the walls were lined with gnarled trees. A croaking sound could be heard near the moss covered pond, but no frogs could be seen. Rays of sunlight warmed patches of the garden where it could get through the leaves of the trees.

'Woah! There's about as many plants here as in the Greenhouses!' Tonks exclaimed, looking around at the crowded garden.

'I've got garden gnomes in my garden too,' Don said as Charlie stuck his head in a bush.

'Not like this I bet,' the bush shook violently. 'Your gnomes are the fishing Father Christmases right? Well take a look at a proper gnome,' he straightened up, bringing with him a small, leathery creature with a large, bald, potato shaped head. The gnome flailed with its stubby arms and legs as Charlie held it at arm's length.

Don and Annie looked mildly horrified by the creature, but that was nothing compared to their reaction when Charlie began swinging the gnome around his head.

'What are you doing?' Annie squealed as the gnome cursed at Charlie.

'It doesn't hurt them,' Charlie assured her, 'it just makes them so dizzy they can't get back to their gnome holes.' As he said it, he let go of the gnome's ankles and it flew twenty-five feet into the air before landing in the next field with an audible _thud_.

'That is so cool!' Tonks eyes were wide, 'show me how.'

Bill popped down and in a few minutes Charlie, Bill, Tonks, Buck, Don and even Annie were tossing gnomes through the air and into the next field. Stupidly, the gnomes all started coming out of their gnome holes as soon as they realised the de-gnoming was happening.

'They're not the smartest creatures,' Bill said, throwing two gnomes simultaneously through the air.

'I bet you can't hit that stump,' Tonks teased Charlie, and for the next couple of gnomes they both tried hitting a tree stump with their gnomes.

'Look, you can see them starting to get back up,' Buck squinted. Sure enough a line of gnomes was forming as they wandered uncertainly away from the Burrow.

'They'll be back soon enough,' Bill assured them, picking up Ginny and spinning her around in the air. 'Dad thinks they're funny so he's a bit soft on them. I'll tell you, if it was up to Mum there'd be no gnomes in a 10 mile radius of our house.'

Charlie nodded in agreement.

* * *

><p>'Dad's on his way home,' Charlie observed, checking the clock in the living room. The clock had nine golden hands and no numbers. Instead, words were written on the outside of the clock face such as: <em>travelling<em>, _work_, _school_, _mortal peril_. The hand with Mr Weasley's face on had just moved from work to travelling, and a few moments later it moved to home and the front door opened as Charlie's father stepped through into his house.

'Afternoon Weasleys!' he called,

'Afternoon Dad!' Charlie and Bill chorused back. From upstairs there was a scrambling sound as Fred and George raced down the stairs.

'Dad!' They cried as they almost knocked their balding father off his feet.

'Arthur, can you move the table out into the garden?' Mrs Weasley asked her husband, giving him a peck on the cheek. 'Everyone, out into the garden!'

They all sat down around the magically expanded table in the garden – all nine Weasleys and Charlie's four friends.

'So Tonks,' Mrs Weasley said as they dug into the fantastic spread of food. 'How's your mother been lately? I've not properly spoken to Andromeda for many years now.'

Tonks gulped down a mouthful of chicken before answering.

'She's alright, thanks,' Tonks replied, going on to talk about her mother's work. Charlie turned to his brothers' conversation.

'You've got to come out and play Quidditch with us Perce,' Bill was telling Percy, 'it's great fun and it'll do you good to get some fresh air.'

'I do get fresh air – I read_ outside_,' Percy retorted, pushing his horn-rimmed glasses back up his nose where they had slid down.

'So Annie, what is it your parents do?' Mr Weasley asked. Fred and George however, were entertaining Don and Buck with jokes. They weren't particularly funny jokes, but when told by two identical seven year olds anything is amusing. Ron and Ginny, the youngest Weasleys, were at the end of the table playing with their food.

When everyone was bursting with food and Ron had successfully launched a spoonful of mushy peas at Percy, the Weasleys and friends headed back inside to bed.

'Tonks and Annie, you're up in Bill's room on the fourth floor,' Charlie told them, 'Buck, Don and Bill are in my room on the first floor. I'll show the girls up to Bill's room.'

Charlie led Tonks and Annie up the rickety stairs of the Burrow. The Weasley parents were clearing up downstairs; the clanking of dishes as they were piled into the sink echoed through the house.

'Mum and Dad's room is right across this landing,' Charlie pointed out as they reached the fourth floor. 'If you want you can sneak downstairs and we can all talk in my room for a bit, but wait until my parents have gone to bed.' Tonks and Annie nodded.

'The top few steps creak so be careful,' Charlie whispered as he heard his parents starting up the stairs. 'See you in a bit!'

It was just gone half past ten when a quiet knock on Charlie's door announced that Annie and Tonks had made it past his parents' room. They settled down on the mattresses laid out on Charlie's floor. The red carpet was mostly hidden under the extra mattresses, and the walls were covered in posters. Charlie's favourite Quidditch team, the Chudley Cannons, who were also the Weasley family's team, had a huge poster over Charlie's bed. The orange robed wizards flew in and out of the frame, waving Quaffles, Beater's bats and their fists at every opportunity. On the other walls there was a picture of a huge black dragon breathing fire, a smaller poster of the English National Quidditch Team doing their signature Rowntree Counter move.

'Cool room,' Tonks said, settling herself down on one end of Bill's mattress.

'And mine isn't?' Bill raised his eyebrows in mock offence.

'Well for a start it's way too clean in there.' Tonks smirked.

'I cleaned it especially!'

'Ssshhh!' Charlie hissed, pointing at the ceiling, 'Mum and Dad are up there, remember!'

Bill rolled his eyes and shut up.

They talked for ages about everything: music, school, other people in school, and teachers in school – that conversation lasted a while on its own when they started discussing Professor Snape.

'That greasy haired git needs to lay off us Gryffindors,' Bill said, everyone else agreed.

'And us Hufflepuffs,' Don added.

'Of course, we can't forget the Pufflehuffs,'

'Oi!' Tonks punched him in the arm.

'Cor, Charlie, where'd you find this one?' Bill laughed, rubbing his arm, 'she's got a tough streak.'

Eventually they all ended up dropping off to sleep where they sat. When Molly Weasley came in the following morning she smiled to herself, closing the door as quietly as she could, and waited until the children all woke up to the smell of cooking bacon and sizzling sausages.

* * *

><p><em><strong>And that's the end of Charlie's first year at Hogwarts... Stay tuned for the second year!<strong>_

_**LittleGuitar94**_


	12. Interval - Molly

_**Molly**_

Molly Weasley prided herself on being a good mother. Raising seven children wasn't easy, especially when six of them were boys.

You would have thought that having two of them at Hogwarts would have made it easier. You would be wrong.

Bill had never been a problematic child, sure he had like to argue with his mother, but he had always been good when it mattered. Molly had never received a letter of complaint about Bill. In fact, the only letter the school had ever sent home regarding Bill was one saying that he was a model pupil who wanted to take 12 subjects for his Ordinary Wizarding Levels. Molly was thrilled, as was Arthur. Obviously, they both wanted the best for their children, and it seemed that Bill had a bright future ahead of him.

In comparison, Charlie had always been out and about in the jungle that was the Burrow's garden. Molly could barely get him to stay in the house half the time and he had often come in covered in mud. Once, Arthur had found him in the process of moving his room out of the house and into the branches of a willow tree. Charlie had been halfway through shoving his mattress out of his first floor window when Arthur stopped him. Another time, Charlie had to be rushed to St Mungo's Hospital because he had been bitten by a venomous tentacula. But instead of running for help when he had been bitten, Charlie had tried feeding the plant left over scraps from dinner, so the poison had spread from his hand to his chest. Thankfully, the healers had sorted it all out promptly and they were back home the next day.

Molly had invested in some lethal gardening that next week.

But aside from those few issues, Molly's two eldest were not a problem at all. So much so that the other five were actually more trouble now that Bill and Charlie were out of the house.

Yet now that the summer holidays had come around once more, there were Charlie's friends to deal with, and once again Molly realised that her first two sons were growing up. It had been quite a shock to Molly when Charlie had owled home with the news that he had a "sort-of girlfriend".

'He's only twelve for Merlin's sake!' Molly had wailed as she waved the letter at Arthur.

'If he wants a girlfriend then just leave him to it.' Her husband had tried to calm her. But it turned out that this fling with that Robin girl was just that – a fling. However, Molly was now worried about the effect that Andromeda's daughter, Nymphadora Tonks was going to have upon her second son.

Just halfway into the term Professor Minerva McGonagall had owled to inform them of Charlie's part in charming the Owlery owls different colours. The Transfiguration professor had assured Molly that the whole thing wasn't Charlie's idea, and had in fact been inspired by Nymphadora Tonks. The same was said for the removal of toilet seats from around the school and spiking food with various potions and powders.

Molly could remember Ted Tonks and Andromeda Black at Hogwarts, a few years below her and Arthur, and what really stood out in Molly's mind was the way boys of every house had tripped over themselves to do every little thing for Andromeda. Molly feared that the same thing was happening again and that Charlie was caught in the cross-fire. Her mind had changed quite quickly however, upon seeing the younger Tonks and her son together. It was obvious that they were great friends.

She smiled to herself when she saw Charlie, Bill and Charlie's friends all sprawled out on the floor of Charlie's room. One of Molly's biggest worries for her children was that they wouldn't fit in at school because they were so used to each other's company. That clearly wasn't an issue.

So Molly contented herself with cooking a large breakfast for them all. She wouldn't have other parents accusing her of starving their children when they stayed at the Burrow. She put the bacon and sausages on to cook and waited for the smell to draw all the children, like moths to a flame.


	13. Second Year 25 FAVE STORIES

_**It's Charlie's Second Year at Hogwarts!**_

_**And this chapter of **_Dungbombs, Drinking and Dragons_**_ is the celebratory chapter announcing that this story is on the Favourite Stories list of 25 readers!_**_

_**Thank you to everyone who has read this story, and an even bigger thank you to those of you who have stuck with it this far! I hope you still like this fic and will carry on reading it.**_

_**If there's anything you want to see happen to Charlie at any point in this fic then let me know in a PM or a review and I'll try and fit it in (unless it doesn't fit with my story plan, of course).**_

_**Anyway, enough of me... back to Charlie.**_

* * *

><p>'Can we go on the train yet Mummy?' begged seven year old Fred Weasley as he and his twin brother clutched Charlie's hands.<p>

'You two are lucky I even let you come today,' warned Mrs Weasley. She was still simmering over the Acid Pop incident where Fred had found a sweet in Bill's bedroom and tried feeding it to little five year old Ron. Almost a month had passed and the hole in Ron's tongue was completely healed, but Mrs Weasley still hadn't forgotten. Charlie joked that she had a better memory than an elephant when it came to her children. Charlie also wouldn't be forgetting his mother's worry as she rushed Ron to St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries any time soon – it was simultaneously the angriest and most worried that he'd ever seen her.

'But where would we have gone?' George asked quietly, not wanting to enrage their mother any further.

Charlie crouched down until he was level with the twins and whispered dramatically.

'She could have left you at Aunt Muriel's!'

The horror on the twins' young faces was worth framing as they glanced back at their mother, eyes wide and mouths gaping.

'Come on boys,' Mr Weasley urged, 'let's get onto the platform. Bill, you go with Percy.' Bill and Percy pushed Bill's trunk-laden trolley towards the magical barrier between platforms 9 and 10 of Kings Cross Station. The Muggles all around rushed past to catch their trains, little knowing that hundreds of wizards and witches were doing the same.

'Charlie, you and the twins next,' Charlie lifted the twins and sat them on top of his trunk before pushing his trolley towards the barrier. The twins squealed as the wall got closer, but after a moment of darkness they emerged onto platform 9 ¾ and Charlie's ears were battered by the chatter of those on the platform.

Charlie Weasley was twelve years old, and had grown a bit over the summer. He was still stockier than the rest of his family, but there was now just a head's height of difference between him and his two years older brother, Bill. Both Charlie's and Bill's hair had grown over the summer, but had been brutally shaved a few days previously, so that they now had identical buzz-cuts. Charlie hated it.

He wheeled the trolley around beside Bill's and waited for his mother and Ginny to come through the barrier, closely followed by his father and Ron.

'Charlie!'

Charlie scanned the crowd to see who had called his name. It was difficult as the steam from the Hogwarts Express made everything a little bit foggy, but he managed to spot his friends in the crowd. Buck, Annie, Don and Tonks were all congregated together not too far away from the Weasleys. Charlie had only spotted them because of Tonks' signature violet hair, currently spiked up and short.

'Go on,' Arthur nodded to his second oldest son, 'we'll find you before you leave.'

The twins hopped down from Charlie's trunk and Charlie wheeled his trolley through the crowd over to his friends.

'Wotcher Charlie,' Tonks said when he reached them, 'what happened to your hair?'

Charlie ran a hand through his short red hair.

'Mum got to it, said she had one daughter and didn't need a son who looked like one,' he winced at the memory of being sat down on a stool and sheared. 'Bill didn't escape either.' Both brothers had spent a large amount of their time since complaining about having short hair.

'Shame you can't do this,' Tonks laughed, screwing up her face and morphing her spiky hair into shoulder length red hair like Charlie used to have.

'Aw, that's mean,' Annie said, trying to keep a straight face. Tonks morphed back to her previous hair.

'Shall we grab ourselves a compartment before they all go?' Don suggested. They pushed their trolleys to the Hogwarts Express and loaded on their trunks and other belongings.

'You've brought your broom?' Charlie asked Buck as he passed the long, thin Cleensweep to Annie who stacked it on top of Buck's trunk.

'Yeah, I thought I'd try out for Chaser this year because Hunter's left now, hasn't she?'

'Yeah, and Rawlins,' Don added, now a big Quidditch fan since his first year at Hogwarts, 'and Birch from the Ravenclaw team,' Charlie remembered the Gryffindor team party after they won the Quidditch cup last year. He entertained the thought of trying out as Gryffindor Seeker.

'What's this?' Buck asked Don, passing a weirdly-shaped and heavy case to Charlie, who helped Annie put it on a shelf.

'It's a bass guitar,' Don answered, 'a magical one. I was talking to Myron about them last year and I talked my grandparents and my parents into getting it as an early birthday present for me.'

'So the band thing is going ahead this year?' Tonks asked, 'good for you guys!'

'Yeah, me, Myron and Kirley owled each other over the summer. _The Weird Sisters_ are going to get started for real this year.'

'Well Filch'll probably break his back lifting it down from this shelf,' Charlie groaned as he and Annie pushed the instrument onto the top shelf.

'We can only hope,' Buck smirked, 'it might get him off our backs for a couple of months at least.'

'And then he comes back and hates us even more?' Tonks pointed out.

'I don't think he could hate you even more Tonks,' Annie interjected, 'not after the frog guts thing.'

Charlie grinned at the memory of Filch finding him and Tonks in the process of covering his office desk in frog guts from potions. 'Good point.'

The whistle blew to announce the imminent departure of the Hogwarts Express. Charlie and his friends quickly left the train to say goodbye to their parents. Charlie found his family already saying farewell to Bill.

'Will you be back for Christmas?' Molly asked her sons as she hugged them both.

'I'll owl you to let you know Mum,' Charlie replied, giving his father a hug.

'I might Mum,' said Bill, picking up Ginny and spinning her around.

'You two be good for Mum, okay?' Charlie told the twins. Their faces split into identical gap-toothed grins.

'Okay Charlie,' they chorused. Somehow he wasn't reassured.

The whistle blew again. Charlie hurriedly gave Ginny a kiss on the cheek and ruffled Ron and Percy's hair.

'Don't!' Percy protested, 'I'm not five!' He was now nine years old.

'See you soon!' Charlie and Bill called as they boarded the train. Tonks dodged through the crowd and hopped on beside them. The train engines fired up and the Hogwarts Express belched another barrage of steam over their heads. Charlie and Tonks headed a separate way to Bill back to their compartment and waved to their families from their window as the red-headed Weasley clan shrank into the distance.

'Here we go again,' Charlie said, settling himself down in the seat beside Tonks.

* * *

><p>Charlie and his friends spent most of the journey from London to Hogwarts planning their next plague of pranks to unleash on the school. Despite not being a prankster herself Annie was very useful in suggesting things and pointing out flaws in their plans.<p>

Before they knew it they were changed into their robes and gathering their left over sweets into their pockets as the school train pulled into Hogsmeade station.

'We have arrived at Hogsmeade Train Station. Please leave all of your belongings on the train; they will be taken up to the castle separately.' The overhead speaker buzzed as the conductor spoke, 'Thank you and have a good year. We'll be back for you in the summer.'

Charlie followed Tonks and Buck off the train. There was a brisk wind that was made even more evident by Charlie's short hair.

'Firs' years, over 'ere!' Rubeus Hagrid's familiar voice boomed over the crowd of students.

'Hey Hagrid,' Charlie waved as they walked past the giant to exit the station, following the rest of the school.

'Alrigh' Charlie?'

'Buck! Buck!' A squeaky voice called.

'Hey Connor,' Buck said, 'guys, this is my brother Connor. He's starting this year.'

'Why are you going over there Buck?' Connor asked. He looked just like Buck except shorter and skinnier.

'We're going to the castle; you're going a different way.' Buck told his brother. 'I'll see you up there in a bit.'

'Bye Buck!' Connor called after his older brother as Buck and Charlie walked away.

'I didn't know your brother was starting this year,' Charlie commented.

'Yeah, he's been bugging me all summer about it. Dead annoying really.'

Charlie chuckled at how he'd bugged Bill for so long about going to Hogwarts.

The five friends piled into a horseless carriage outside Hogsmeade Station.

'This is weird,' Tonks muttered as the carriage lurched forward towards the distant Hogwarts castle.

'Do you think it's magic or is something invisible pulling it?' Annie wondered.

Charlie leaned around to the front of the carriage. 'If there is something there then I can't reach it.'

'It's probably just magic then, like the boats were last year.'

Charlie rocked from side to side as the carriage rolled closer to the school over rocky ground. When the carriage finally came to a halt in front of the castle gates they were ushered up to the castle by Professor Flitwick and Mr Filch. Filch glared at Charlie with his yellow bulging eyes as he walked by.

'I don't think Filch likes you very much either.' Annie whispered as they climbed the steps to the castle.

'Nymphadora, do something with your hair!' Professor McGonagall barked as Tonks walked past her in the Entrance Hall. Tonks rolled her eyes and screwed up her face. Charlie held back a snort of laughter as Tonks' cropped purple hair became dark and greying and tied up into a bun, just like McGonagall's.

'Risky move,' Charlie grinned, nudging her arm. Professor McGonagall hadn't seen Tonks' cheeky response as she had moved onto scolding a sixth year for having a mark on their black wizard's hat.

Charlie, Buck and Annie split up from Tonks and Don as they entered the Great Hall and headed to the Gryffindor table on the far left of the hall. Tonks morphed her hair back to violet and sat down at the Hufflepuff table.

'Hey Charlie!' called Fergus Finnegan from the Gryffindor table. Charlie took the vacant seat opposite the Irishman.

'How was your summer?' Charlie asked him as Annie greeted the other Gryffindor girls.

'Ah not too bad, I stayed with me aunt and me cousin for most of it. Little Seamus can say me name properly now. He used to just call me Fugs,' Fergus grinned. 'How about yours?'

Charlie told Fergus about his summer while Reg Cattermole joined them. Soon after Professor McGonagall returned to the Hall and spoke quickly to Professor Dumbledore.

'Remember us a year ago?' Reg asked as McGonagall strode from the hall.

'Yeah, I thought I was going to be sick,' Buck recalled, 'I think Shunpike actually was sick.'

The doors of the Great Hall swung open and the students within fell silent as Professor McGonagall led the new batch of first years into the Hall. Charlie spotted Buck's brother Connor towards the back of the line, he was staring open mouthed at the enchanted ceiling which was currently cloudy.

The line of first years stopped in front of the old wooden stool, on top of which sat an even older frayed Wizard's hat – The Sorting Hat. A few moments later a rip near the brim opened like a mouth and the hat began its song:

'_Each year that comes, I'm bound to Sort…'_

* * *

><p>When the hat finally finished its song it bowed to each of the four tables it had just mentioned and froze upon its stool. The cheers died down and Professor McGonagall unrolled her scroll of parchment.<p>

'When I call your name,' she told the first years, 'You will step forward and sit on the stool, I will place the Sorting Hat upon your head, and you will be Sorted into your house.

'Argyle, Mary!'

A mousy haired girl stepped anxiously forward and sat down on the stool. The Sorting Hat fell down to her nose. The Hall was quiet as they waited.

'HUFFLEPUFF!' cried the Hat. Charlie saw Tonks applaud Mary as she sat down at the Hufflepuff table beside Oliver James.

'The hat sang a different song last year,' Buck commented as the 'Bason, Lucas' stepped up to the hat.

'I guess it changes every year,' Charlie replied as he applauded the new Ravenclaw boy.

'Not much else to do when you're a hat, I suppose,' Reg shrugged.

'Barbary, Heathcote!' Professor McGonagall called and a boy with spiked up black hair stepped forward.

'GRYFFINDOR!' The hat roared. Charlie cheered along with the rest of his house as Heathcote joined the table.

'Well done mate!' he called down to the shocked looking kid.

A couple of people later and Buck's brother Connor also joined them at the Gryffindor table. Buck groaned from beside Charlie.

'Don't you get on with your brother?' Charlie asked, thinking it a very foreign concept considering how close he and all of his siblings were.

'Not really, I mean, he's alright sometimes but other times he just gets on my nerves.'

Charlie clapped again as a blonde girl went to Ravenclaw. By the time that 'Higgs, Terence' had gone to the Slytherin table half of the first years were left.

'Hopkins, Wayne!' Professor McGonagall called.

The next Gryffindor to join the table was 'Jones, Megan', who Gwenog Jones was loudly telling everyone was her cousin.

Eventually, as 'Wintringham, Herman' took a seat at the Hufflepuff table; Professor McGonagall rolled up her scroll and removed the Sorting Hat and stool from the hall. Charlie heard someone's stomach grumble loudly as Professor Dumbledore stood up, his silver beard glinting in the candlelight.

'Here we are, once more, at the beginning of another year of education at Hogwarts,' Dumbledore surveyed his students, 'I have some start of term notices, but they can wait until we've sunk our teeth into this delicious feast. _Bon appétit_!'

At Dumbledore's command the golden plates on each of the tables suddenly bloomed with food. Charlie dived for the plate of chicken drumsticks in front of him and started loading up his plate.

* * *

><p>Full up with good food and good conversation Charlie and the rest of the hall fell silent as Albus Dumbledore took to his feet once more, beginning with the usual announcements.<p>

'First years are warned that the dark forest in the grounds is strictly forbidden to all students. I repeat – _all_ students. Mr Filch requests that you all be reminded again that magic is not to be used in the corridors, or anywhere else where he would have to clean up your mess.' Charlie looked over to Tonks who had caused a lot of extra cleaning for the grumpy caretaker.

'Also, I would like to welcome Professor Birch, who is taking over Defence Against the Dark Arts classes from Professor Kelly following a mishap while he was travelling in India over the holidays,' Charlie applauded politely along with the rest of the school. He'd liked Professor Kelly and loved the lessons, but from the rumours going around the school it was best not to get too attached to the Defence Against the Dark Arts professors.

Professor Birch was a man of average height with a bit of a beard. He had brown hair beneath a wizard's hat, with grey robes over a purple jumper.

'D'you think he's related to Brevis Birch, the old Ravenclaw captain?' Charlie pondered.

'Could be. How long do you think he'll last?' Reg asked as the new professor sat back down.

'With that jumper?' Buck said, 'until Christmas.'

'Finally, Quidditch trials will be held on September 14th. All those wishing to apply for a position on their house team should speak to Madam Hooch before the 13th.' The Headmaster slipped his wand from his sleeve indicating the end of his notices.

'Now, to make sure all that wonderful food gets to our feet, let us sing the school song!'

Charlie grudgingly got to his feet, as did the rest of the school.

'_Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,'_ they sang as Dumbledore conducted.

* * *

><p>Charlie and the other Gryffindors left the hall with the rest of the school and headed up the Grand Staircase to the Gryffindor common room.<p>

'Does anyone actually know the password?' he asked his house mates as they climbed.

'Caesar,' Rose Almedius replied, 'I heard the new Prefect talking about it.'

'Who're the new Gryffindor Prefects?'

'That Twiddle guy, Mallory Twiddle. You know, the one who keeps asking people to join Charms club?'

'Oh yeah, he's nice.' Annie nodded, being a regular attendee of Charms club herself.

'And the other one?'

'Persephone Hiddleston,'

'The tall one?'

'Yeah, she's really into Herbology.'

'Interesting choice of Prefects there,' Charlie commented. They had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady that marked the entrance to the Gryffindor common room.

'Caesar,' he told the woman. She nodded and her portrait swung forward revealing the passageway into the common room. The room was almost empty, with only a couple of students lounging in the squashy armchairs by the fire.

'I'm going to crash out here if I don't get to bed soon, I'll see you guys tomorrow,' Reg yawned, trudging towards the boys' dormitory.

'I think I'll do the same actually,' Rose said, so she and Elveira Elkins went off to the girls' dorm.

'See you in the morning,' Charlie told Annie as she and Julia followed the other two girls.

Up in the dormitory Charlie stripped off his robes, shoes, tie, shirt and trousers and got straight into bed. He was snoring before Buck had even finished unbuttoning his shirt.

* * *

><p><em><strong>A big ol' thank you to the 25 readers who have added this story to their favourites.<strong>_

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	14. Try Outs 50 REVIEWS

**_50 REVIEW CHAPTER! Woo!_**

* * *

><p>When Charlie woke the next morning he found his new timetable on his bedside table.<p>

'Eurgh, double Potions with the Slytherins first,' he grumbled, reading the parchment with blurry eyes.

'And Transfiguration with them after,' Reg added, also awake. Fergus was still snoring and Buck was stirring.

Charlie reached behind his back for his pillow and threw it at Fergus. Fergus snorted as he jerked awake.

'Wassat for?'

'You snored all last year; I'm not going to let you carry on this year.'

Soon enough the Gryffindor second year boys were down in the Great Hall for breakfast. It was back to a routine of meals, owl post, lessons and free time for Charlie, but one thought kept popping up in his mind. Should he try out for the Gryffindor Quidditch team?

Last night he had dreamt of flying for Gryffindor, and as he munched his way through a stack of buttered toast and scrambled eggs he decided that it was worth a shot. But before he tried out he would need to find himself a decent broom. Having experienced the quality of the school brooms in Flying lessons last year he wasn't hopeful.

The bell rang for lessons soon after Charlie had finished breakfast, and he headed down to the chilly dungeons with the other Gryffindors and Slytherins.

'Move it Weasley,' grunted Rowle as he shouldered his way to the front of the line, followed by Gibbon, Bozo, and Shunpike. The other Slytherin boy, Scabior, loitered away from the rest of his house mates at the back of the queue. Charlie had never spoken to the long black haired boy before – he'd always been too preoccupied with disliking all Slytherins on principle.

The door to the Potions classroom opened and the second years all filed in.

'Weasley! At the front!' Snape barked from the front desk. Charlie sighed; Snape was starting his reign of terror early this year.

'I want you where I can see you,' the greasy haired potions master hissed at him. 'You won't be sneaking Babbling beverages out of my classroom this year.'

Charlie swallowed hard as Snape's hooked nose was only inches from his own freckled face. He had hoped that Snape would have forgotten some of the pranks he and Tonks had pulled on the Slytherins at dinner times. How naïve he was to think such a thing.

Snape pulled away from Charlie, who exhaled a deep breath, and spoke to the entire class.

'All of you have proved that you have the tiniest ounce of potion making ability by being allowed to return to Hogwarts this year. Though some of you possess more potential than others,' Charlie didn't need to look up to see that Snape was glaring at the Gryffindor side of the dungeon, probably even at him. Charlie was busy unpacking his bag to focus on Snape's disapproval of his house. Not a good move.

'Weasley! Is your bag so interesting that you don't have to pay attention to my class?'

Charlie snapped his head up. 'No sir, sorry sir.'

'Five points from Gryffindor!'

The Slytherins snickered as the Gryffindors huffed at Snape's obvious bias.

'We will be brewing the Pumpion potion today. If brewed correctly the potion should have the effect of temporarily turning the drinker's head into a pumpkin.' Snape sneered at Charlie, showing his yellow teeth. 'Mr Weasley here has just volunteered to be the lucky drinker, not that you could tell if the potion had worked with that pumpkin coloured hair.'

The dungeon echoed with the Slytherins' laughter. Charlie knew better than to back chat.

'Ingredients and procedure are on the board. Begin!'

Two hours later and Charlie was not in the best mood. Fergus had tipped over Charlie's cauldron in an effort to recapture a bouncing bulb and Charlie's almost complete Pumpion potion tipped all over the floor, causing Snape to take a further ten points from Gryffindor. Snape had then made Charlie drink the freshly brewed potion. After his brief spell as a pumpkin head, Charlie was feeling nauseous and hungry; and he had now gained the nickname 'pumpkin head' from the Slytherins.

So all together, Charlie was relieved to get out of the castle at break time.

'Not a good first lesson I gather?' Tonks asked when she saw Charlie's face. Charlie shook his head while Annie and Buck recounted the whole lesson.

'Wow, Snape's upped his game this year,' Don commented once they'd finished. 'I thought he couldn't get any worse than last year.'

'Who wants to bet he'll take more than fifteen points from Hufflepuff after my first lesson with him today,' Tonks winked. Snape seemed to hate Tonks more than any other student and nobody knew why.

'I reckon he's jealous of your hair,' Charlie laughed, feeling better as they headed back into the castle for transfiguration.

'Who isn't,' Tonks shrugged with a grin, 'well, if I don't survive this lesson, I'll see you in the afterlife!' She gave a backhanded wave as she and Don headed down the spiral steps to the dungeon. Charlie, Annie and Buck headed up the Grand Staircase to Transfiguration instead.

'We will be revising the spells that we learned last year, as students usually forget everything they have previously learned.' Professor McGonagall announced once they were all seated.

Sure enough, Charlie could barely remember how to transfigure his beetle into a button. By the end of the lesson Charlie's brain felt like porridge, but at least he hadn't lost any house points from McGonagall. Annie had even gained back ten of Charlie's lost points by producing a whole row of perfectly formed buttons.

'Nice one pumpkin head!' Gibbon boomed as they headed down to lunch. Charlie felt a button bounce off his head.

'Ignore it,' Annie urged, seeing Charlie's hand flex towards his wand.

Charlie was fuming when he sat down at the Gryffindor table for lunch.

'Today has been such a rubbish day! It can't get any worse!' he complained, stuffing roast chicken into his mouth.

Thunder rolled across the enchanted ceiling as though in reply.

'Fantastic,' Charlie groaned through his mouthful of chicken, 'Fan-bloody-tastic.'

Thankfully, the rest of Charlie's week passed without being worse than Monday. After his appalling Potions and Transfiguration lessons Charlie found himself on the floor of Greenhouse Two, having been knocked out by the piercing cry of a particularly ugly and fat baby mandrake.

'Bad luck Weasley,' Professor Sprout shrugged as Tonks and Buck helped him to his feet. Sprout was holding Charlie's earmuffs in her hands. 'Looks like you got the only earmuffs with a hole in them.'

But by Friday Charlie was feeling much happier: he had put his name down on the try outs for Gryffindor Seeker.

Now he just needed to find himself a decent broom. Having used the school brooms for Flying lessons last year he knew how much of a challenge that could be.

So Saturday morning, Charlie and his friends headed down to the Flying grounds to find a broom. They pulled out a selection of brooms in a variety of battered conditions.

'Okay, just get a feel of the brooms – if you get one that goes too far in one direction when you're flying then put it in a pile over here,' Charlie motioned to his left. 'If you think it's decent put it over here,' he pointed to his right. 'I'll then go through that pile and find a good broom.'

By lunchtime they had discounted most of the brooms from the broom cupboard and had only a dozen brooms in the good pile.

Charlie quickly settled on an old Cleensweep that only veered slightly to the left when in flight, and it had most of its tail twigs too. He took the broom up to Madam Hooch's office for it to be kept aside until the try outs.

'Ah, so you managed to find a decent broom in there? Well done,' the hawk-eyed Flying teacher took the broom from Charlie.

Madam Hooch's office was small, but it held a number of trophies in the clear glass case to the left, including the large silver Quidditch Cup. In the opposite corner of the room, beside the desk, was a cupboard where Madam Hooch kept brooms, and judging by the rattling from within, she also kept the Quidditch balls in there too. On the desk was a faded picture of an all female Quidditch team, the Holyhead Harpies.

'I didn't know you used to play,' Charlie said, spotting Madam Hooch in the left of the middle row, indicating that she played as a Chaser.

'Many years ago, Weasley,' she put his broom away, 'many years ago.'

Charlie signed his name on a little piece of parchment and turned to leave the office.

'Good luck Weasley,' Madam Hooch called as he closed the office door on the way out.

* * *

><p>The next week passed quickly. After lessons Charlie and Buck spent their evenings down on the Quidditch pitch practising for the try outs. Charlie was able to coax some speed out of his school broom, but it was nothing compared to Buck's newer Cleensweep model.<p>

Charlie went to bed early the Friday before try outs, in the hopes that extra sleep would help calm his nerves.

'You'll do great,' Tonks reassured him, 'we've seen you fly, so just relax and you'll be fine.'

Charlie wished he could believe her, but his stomach felt like it was filled with angry bees buzzing around faster and faster as the try outs got closer and closer.

Finally, after a fitful sleep Charlie decided that it was time to get down to breakfast. He was a couple of hours early, as the sun hadn't even begun to rise, but he felt better to be doing something.

Barely anyone was in the Great Hall when Charlie arrived but there was already food out. As Charlie mulled over a bowl of cereal the Hall slowly filled up. Tonks and Don came over to wish him good luck once the Hufflepuffs started arriving from their basement dormitory. Next to arrive were the Ravenclaws, more often than not clutching books to read over breakfast. The Slytherins and Gryffindors arrived last and made their way to the opposite ends of the Hall to their House tables.

'Didn't sleep so well?' Buck asked Charlie as he took a seat opposite.

Charlie shook his head. He still had half of his cereal left.

The enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall showed that the weather outside was cloudy, normal for September in Scotland.

Bill came by as well and sat beside his younger brother.

'How are you feeling Charlie?' he asked, looking concerned at his sibling.

'Not so good,' Charlie confessed, lamely stirring his soggy cereal.

'Nervous?'

Charlie nodded.

'Don't worry about it,' Bill urged, knowing that it was hard not to worry. 'You're a better flyer than me, and you know it.'

That brought a smile to Charlie's face, remembering when Bill and Charlie would play against each other at the Burrow's orchard and Charlie would beat his older brother easily.

'_Everyone's _better than you Bill,'

Bill pretended to look shocked. 'Not everyone.' He pointed over to the Ravenclaw table, 'see the lanky one over there? Bernie Pillsworth, he's a rubbish flyer. Even worse than me – couldn't get more than a couple of feet off the ground without being sick.'

Charlie raised his eyebrows.

'How're you feeling now?' Bill asked again.

'Surprisingly better,' Charlie almost grinned. Bill was actually a pretty fair flyer, but the two brothers got on far too well to ever admit that. Especially not after it had been a joke between them for so long.

Charlie managed to take a couple of bites of a bacon omelette before he saw Gwenog Jones, the sixth year Gryffindor Captain, take to her feet and leave the Hall, shortly followed by the rest of her team.

Charlie lost his appetite once more.

'C'mon, let's do this,' he said to Buck, and the two of them headed down to the Quidditch pitch. Annie and Bill bid them a good luck as they went.

'We'll be down in a bit, okay?' Annie called. Charlie's stomach churned at the thought. He hoped he wasn't going to be sick. That would be a terrible first impression to give to the intense Gryffindor Captain.

So Charlie stood, clutching his broom, among a dozen other hopefuls. He was watching the Chaser try outs where Buck was weaving in and out of the other players on his flashy new broom.

The Seeker try outs were kept until last.

In the stands, Charlie spotted Annie, Don and Tonks cheering Buck on. It wasn't too much of a surprise that Buck was chosen as new Gryffindor Chaser, despite his competition being older and more experienced. The simple fact was that Buck had some decent skills as well as a more than decent broom.

'Well done mate,' Charlie said to Buck, clapping him on the back.

'Piece of cake,' Buck bragged, 'I've got to go and see about getting some old robes from the locker room. See you in a bit – and you'd better have been chosen alright?'

Charlie forced a laugh as Buck sauntered off after fourth year Chaser Jon Roberts.

After Jones had reinstated Barry Ryan as Keeper, Jenkins as Beater and Dent as the remaining Chaser, it was time for the Seeker to be chosen.

'GO ON CHARLIE!' he heard from the stands, it had to be Tonks, Annie wasn't that loud and no other girls would be cheering for Charlie.

Gwenog Jones lined all the hopefuls up. She gave them a right talking to about what commitments she expects from her team and if they couldn't be sure of that commitment they shouldn't bother trying out. Charlie hadn't noticed quite how strong Jones' Welsh accent was until he heard her talk for a length of time.

A couple of fifth years decided that they couldn't commit and sheepishly slipped out of line.

'Right then,' Jones barked, 'the rest of you – mount your brooms and do a lap of the pitch!'

Charlie thought that was a pretty routine task, smoothly mounting his broom and kicking off from the ground. A third year couldn't even get off the ground on their broom and was unceremoniously dismissed by Jones at once.

The group was narrowed down even further when Jones started calling them out halfway through their lap. Charlie was praying that his name wouldn't be called as he came to the end of the lap. His name wasn't called.

'Land!' Jones ordered.

Charlie landed as though his life depended on it.

'You,' Jones said, pointing at one of the four remaining hopefuls. Charlie was third in the line, feeling self-conscious that he was the youngest and the shortest. 'Poor broom control on the dismount. No.'

Charlie resisted the urge to look around at the person's face. He was more than a little bit intimidated by Jones' harsh measures.

Then, with only three of them left of the original dozen, Jones got them in the air and threw some Muggle golf balls at them. The idea was that they were a similar size to the Golden Snitch and they had to catch as many as they could.

One more hopeful was quickly let go after missing three balls in a row.

Then it was just Charlie versus a third year girl.

Jones lined the two up and scrutinised them for a couple of minutes, until, after what seemed like forever…

'Weasley!' Charlie heart sunk, the thought that had been plaguing him all day popped into his head: _you didn't make it_.

But that's not what Jones said.

She said: 'You're in.'

The third year girl threw her broom on the ground and stormed off. Charlie felt like his lungs were about to collapse, he honestly hadn't thought he would make it.

'Welcome to the Gryffindor Quidditch Team!'

From the stands Charlie heard Tonks, Don, Annie and Bill going wild.

'GO CHARLIE! GO CHARLIE!' they chanted. Hearing them, Jones raised an eyebrow.

'Quite a fan club you've got there,' she even smiled. After the morning of strictly ordering around half of Gryffindor House, it was hard to think of Jones as being quite a nice person. But, as she explained to Charlie in the locker room, she only acted so harsh to weed out those who couldn't take the pressure.

'I'll have no weak-willed players on my team.' She growled, opening the door to the locker room for Charlie.

Charlie found Buck in the locker room with the rest of the team.

'YEAH! Well done mate!' Buck cheered when he saw his red-headed friend, echoing Charlie's earlier congratulations.

Jones took Charlie over to a large pile of Gryffindor Quidditch robes and tried a couple on against him.

'This one will do,' she said, handing Charlie the scarlet and gold robes. 'We'll get your name put on later.'

'Team!' Jones barked, somewhat friendlier than she had been before, 'congratulations! Now, let's work hard and keep hold of that Quidditch Cup!'

They all cheered, Charlie felt a bit dizzy. He probably should have eaten more for breakfast.

'Training will start next on the first Tuesday of October…' Jones continued, launching into the new programme she had designed for the year.

Charlie's thoughts wandered to the future, imagining himself holding the silver Quidditch Cup aloft in front of the entire school.

'Okay team, dismissed,' Jones finished. 'Well done you two,' she said to Buck and Charlie.

Together, the two friends headed back out to the stands to see their friends.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Thank you all so much! 50 reviews is such a great milestone! Huge danke to <strong>livininthesky, runeaglerun, ShadowedPuppeteer, abnormalities, withaballoon, verliebtindich, .Emmazing, themusicfiend, CossetteLune, fo'got te loooorg een, Lady Elizabeth of New York, huggie101, chelseyb1010, Angel-of-vampires, degree of awesomness, sportz8806, KitKat, Bonnie Moonstone, MockingjayPaean, couriouserby2, NaylaWood, NymphaTonksLupin, Scarlett **and **Phoenix-Core7**!**_

_**Congratulations to**Bonnie Moonstone **for being my top reviewer! And to **withaballoon **for being runner up reviewer, and to **_ShadowedPuppeteer, _verliebtindich, _Lady Elizabeth of New York**and** _______chelseyb1010 **for being third place reviewers! You guys are so awesome!**_____

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_____**Keep up the good reviewing guys! And remember, if there's any suggestions about what I could put into this story, or any improvements then just let me know in a review! :)**_____

_____**LittleGuitar94**_____


	15. Debut

'Hey guys,' Don dropped by the Gryffindor table to talk to Charlie and Annie. 'Myron, Kirley and I got permission from Flitwick to use his classroom for our band's first gig.'

'That's great Don!' Annie applauded, giving him a quick congratulatory hug.

'So we'll finally get to hear you guys play?' Charlie asked. The three band members had been rather secretive about their music. Even when Charlie and Tonks had crept outside the music room to sneak a listen they found that the room had a sound-proofing charm on it, so they couldn't hear a thing.

'Yeah, I just came by to give you these flyers. If you could hand them out to as many people as possible, we just want to see what people think of our music right now.'

And leaving his pile of parchment behind, he headed back to the Hufflepuff table.

Charlie took a look at the topmost flyer. It was purple with a silver, handwritten font proclaiming _The Weird Sisters _at the top. Charlie read on. _Charms Classroom 2E, Tonight at 7pm, EVERYONE WELCOME. _

'Looks like fun,' Charlie piped, handing flyers out to those closest to him.

That night Charlie, Annie, Buck and a couple of other Gryffindors made their way down to the Charms classroom. Charlie spotted Bill as soon as he walked into the room, the Weasley red hair was rather distinctive. Bill was with Charlie and Buck's teammates, Jon Roberts and Joey Jenkins.

Looking around, Charlie spotted people from every house packed into the classroom. Quiet chatter was everywhere.

'Hey, Charlie!' Tonks found her way over to Charlie with Robin and Alex. 'So glad I found you,' she dropped her voice, 'these two don't know anything about music!'

The lights dimmed soon after, 'Ladies and gentlemen!' Myron's gruff voice boomed out of the magical speakers on either side of the stage that had been erected in place of Professor Flitwick's desk. The chairs and desks were piled up against the walls of the classroom. 'Thank you all for coming!'

There was applause as the three band members stepped on stage.

'Thank you!' Myron called again. He had switched his Hufflepuff robes for some tight dark jeans and a long baggy vest; he had confidence on the stage that was evident in his cocky smile as he surveyed the crowd of students. 'We are the Weird Sisters, and this is our first gig! We've got a couple of old hits for you tonight, as well as some originals from us!'

More applause from the crowd.

'And without further ado – let's rock!' Charlie cheered as the atmosphere in the room switched from curiosity to enjoyment as everyone jumped and danced around to a song by the Hobgoblins. Tonks was having a whale of a time as her now shoulder-length pink hair flying in all directions as she head-banged to some of the most popular wizard rock songs of recent years.

'You're amazing Hogwarts!' Myron cried as they brought another song to its end. 'Now, some of you may already know who we are but for those of you who don't it's time for a little introduction!'

'Who are you?' Joey heckled.

'Good question!' Myron pointed at the Gryffindor Beater. 'I, wizards and witches, am Myron Wagtail, lead vocalist of this motley crew!'

'Boo!' Bill jeered at his friend amidst the cheers of the spectators.

'Shut up Weasley!' Myron called back, enticing a couple of chuckles from the crowd.

'To my left, on lead guitar, Mr. Kirley McKormack!' More cheers for Kirley. 'Some of you may have heard of his mother,' Myron allowed himself a cheeky smile, 'No, not like that you filthy lot! His mother, of course, captain and Chaser of the Pride of Portree!'

Judging by the response from the crowd a lot of people didn't know that. Charlie only knew because Kirley had been over his house a number of times. Kirley looked stonily on, his sister Meghan yelled loudly.

'GO KIRLEY!'

Once Kirley's reception had died down Myron continued.

'To my right, on bass…'

'Oh, that's what that thing is,' Rose Almeidus whispered.

'Donaghan Tremlett!' Charlie and the gang cheered for their lives as Don waved to the crowd.

'And if any of you out there can play an instrument we're looking for someone on percussion or anything else really!' A few people cheered.

'I think it's now time for our first original number of the evening – _This is the Night_!'

Charlie whooped and clapped as Kirley started a slow riff and Myron joined in a moment later on vocals.

'_When all is dark and there's no light…_'

All in all it was a brilliant opening gig for Don and the band. The three guys rode on their success for the next couple of weeks. As Halloween approached the trio could be found enchanting some of the suits of armour around the castle to sing their songs or promote their next gig in November.

Charlie and Buck were quickly swept up in preparation for the opening Quidditch match of the season – Gryffindor versus Slytherin, as always.

As the second weekend of November approached Charlie had no time for anything but Quidditch practice. Reg and Fergus got a shock one morning when Gwenog Jones burst in to wake her two newest players for an early morning practice.

But when the day of Charlie's Gryffindor debut dawned Charlie and Buck were whisked away from the rest of the school after a meagre breakfast.

'Good luck Charlie!' he couldn't work out who said it, but it made him feel all the more jittery.

The nerves took over when Charlie pulled on his scarlet and gold Gryffindor robes, emblazoned with a bold _WEASLEY _on the back.

He heard the cheers of the waiting crowd build as the stands filled. He felt butterflies break out in the pit of his stomach and flutter about impatiently. Charlie ached to get out onto the pitch, to stop waiting, to do something.

'How are you two feeling?' Gwenog asked, sternly looking over Buck and Charlie.

They both nodded, 'alright,' Charlie stuttered.

'Good. You'll feel better when you're out there. Remember Weasley, stay out of the way until you spot the Snitch.' Gwenog cleared her throat. 'Right team, this is it. The first game of the season, let's make it a good one. We won the Cup last year, let's do it again! Gryffindor!'

The six other players roared in reply, 'GRYFFINDOR!'

They lined up at the entrance to the pitch. Charlie was third from the front and he could see Madam Hooch in the centre of the pitch with the crate of Quidditch balls.

'HERE COME THE SLYTHERINS! SPOKES! PARKES! DI PIETRO! CARTER! QUIGLEY! CONNINGTON! AAAAND KIELY!' The Slytherins flew onto the pitch as silver and green bullets.

'HERE TO DEFEND THEIR TITLE AS CHAMPIONS – PLEASE WELCOME THE GRYFFINDORS!' Myron announced to the stands.

'Let's go team!' Jones called from the front. They mounted their brooms and kicked off, shooting from the tunnel.

The wind whipped through Charlie's red hair and red robes as he sped off on a lap of the pitch with the rest of the team, flying on the roar of cheers.

'JONES! JENKINS! WEASLEY! COOPER! DENT! ROBERTS! AAAAND RYAN!'

They lapped the pitch as a team before settling into the starting semi-circle above Madam Hooch. Gwenog and her opposing captain landed and shook hands. The Slytherin team hadn't changed since the previous year, and they all looked like they were ready to win the game. Charlie swallowed hard remembering how the first game of the season last year had ended up for the Gryffindor Seeker – Quigley had hit a bludger and broken the Seeker's arm.

All at once Madam Hooch's whistle blew and Charlie took to the sky above the game, scanning and searching for the Golden Snitch.

'Pick up by Di Pietro and he shoots off towards the Gryffindor half. Slytherin in possession at the start of the match! Passes to Spokes, over to Parkes, back to Spokes – Spokes takes a distance shot on goal and misses! Rookie mistake from the experienced Chaser there.'

Charlie breathed a sigh of relief and continued to glance around for the Snitch.

'The Quaffle's in Gryffindor possession for the first time this match. Cooper, Roberts, Dent, Roberts again, intercepted by Parkes. Di Pietro, Spokes, Cooper steals the ball! Bold move from the new Gryffindor! The Slytherin captain won't like that, oh no he won't indeed.' Charlie allowed himself a little applause for Buck as his friend rocketed off below him.

'Cooper passes to Roberts, to Dent, back to Roberts! WHAT'S HE DOING? Parkes has locked broom handles with Roberts in an obvious attempt at blurting! That's a foul!'

Sure enough Madam Hooch flew in, whistle a-blowing, to break off the attack. Roberts had been dragged off course by the Slytherin Chaser but still maintained possession of the Quaffle.

'It's a penalty shot for Gryffindor! Roberts to take the shot!'

Charlie broke off his search for the Snitch to watch Jon Roberts take on the Slytherin Keeper. Charlie and the crowd groaned in dismay as the shot was deflected by Carter.

Charlie scanned the crowd, easily spotting Tonks with her cropped red hair. She'd felt the need to imitate Charlie's hair colour in honour of his debut.

Still no sign of the Snitch.

'Dent wins the Quaffle from Di Pietro! These Gryffindor Chasers are a bold lot this season! Parkes intercepts! Passes to Spokes, he fires on the Gryffindor Keeper and RYAN SAVES IT!'

'YEAH!' Charlie cheered from his bird's eye view above the game.

'Clears the Quaffle out to Cooper, he's having a terrific debut is Buckley Cooper, good friend of a friend's brother he is.'

'Wagtail! Don't make this about your social life!' Charlie had almost forgotten Professor McGonagall was in the commentary box with Myron, it was odd that he hadn't said anything which required scolding for so long.

Charlie focused on his job as Seeker, spotting only golden glints from watches in the crowd.

'Spokes takes a shot on centre hoop AND HE SCORES! The Quaffle just skimming Keeper Ryan's finger tips there! Spectacular shot from the Slytherin captain to put Slytherin ahead by TEN POINTS to ZERO and we're four minutes into the match!'

'How's your first game treating you?' Charlie's opposing number, Aiden Kiely, asked him, pulling himself to a halt near Charlie. Charlie hadn't realised before that Kiely was Irish, but it was now clear in his accent.

'Not bad,' Charlie replied, unsure why his opponent was talking to him.

His focus was distracted a moment later when Buck made a shot on goal and hit the side of the hoop. The hoop made a sound like a gong that echoed around the stadium.

'Oh if only that had been a couple of inches to the right!' Myron complained.

Spokes scored again a minute later and Parkes shortly after that to make it 30-0 to Slytherin.

'Jones' squad not really on form today, or maybe the Slytherins have found that extra bit of juice they've been lacking for the past couple of years.'

Gwenog called a time out and the Gryffindors flew in for a huddle.

'Okay team, I don't know what's going wrong, but whatever it is it needs to stop. We're three goals down, so unless Weasley spots the Snitch any time soon we're going to need to up our game. Roberts, you take point on shots, Cooper and Dent try to assist. Joey and I will try and take out any Chasers that get in the way, and Kiely,' she added to Charlie, 'I don't like that guy.'

About thirty seconds after time-out had ended Gryffindor had their first goal.

'Nicely set up from Cooper, over to Roberts and sails past Carter's outstretched hand! I don't know what Jones said in that team talk, but it certainly worked!'

The game progressed with no sign of the Snitch and Kiely trying to make conversation with Charlie. Charlie figured that he was just trying to distract Charlie from his search for the Snitch, and it almost worked.

Charlie had just turned, frustrated, to the Slytherin Seeker when he saw a flutter of golden wings to the left of Kiely. Unfortunately, Kiely had spotted something too, and the two Seekers sped off after the Snitch.

'It looks like Kiely and Weasley have found the Snitch!' Myron announced excitedly to the crowd. 'It's 70-100 to Slytherin here, so if Weasley can catch the Snitch Gryffindor can pull this win out of the bag!'

Charlie strained on his broom, willing himself to go faster. Kiely was ahead by half a broom-length, the Slytherin noticed and aimed a kick at Charlie's side. Charlie flew wide to avoid it, luckily the Snitch changed direction and Charlie was slightly ahead.

Charlie could only hear the white noise of the wind that drowned out the urging crowd. He stretched out his hand for the Snitch. _Just a little further_. He pleaded. _YES! _

'GALOPING GARGOYLES! CHARLIE WEASLEY CATCHES THE SNITCH! IT'S A WIN FOR GRYFFINDOR! 220-100!'

Charlie punched the air with his fist, a fist containing a struggling golden ball worth one hundred and fifty points.

'YES!' He roared as the Gryffindor team descended on him.

'WELL DONE CHARLIE!' Buck yelled, clapping him on the back.

'Nice one Weasley!' Gwenog smiled looking worn out but pleased.

Charlie landed with the Snitch still in his hand.

'GO GO GRYFFINDOR! GO GO GRYFFINDOR!' The crowd chanted as he held his fist aloft.

'Don't forget to check out the Weird Sisters' November concert, next weekend in the library!' Myron reminded the crowd.

'WAGTAIL! THIS IS NOT THE PLACE FOR YOU TO PROMOTE YOUR BAND!' Professor McGonagall reprimanded.

'You're invited too professor!'

'WAGTAIL!'


	16. Food Fight

'We've not pulled any pranks in a while,' Tonks noted as the bell rang to signal the end of Herbology.

'Yeah, it's been ages since my last detention,' Charlie sighed, putting his school bag over his shoulder.

'Any ideas guys?' Tonks ventured, clearly not having any herself.

They all drew blanks on the walk up to the Great Hall for lunch. As the mouth-watering aroma of the Hall reached them Buck had an idea.

'Food fight,' he murmured.

'What?' They all stopped at the entrance to the Great Hall.

'Out of the way midgets!' A massive Slytherin seventh year growled as he barged through them.

'A food fight,' Buck repeated to the gang, now huddled in the corner of the Entrance Hall. Charlie checked their reactions: Buck was thrilled at having an idea, Don was nodding his head, Annie looked thoughtful, and Tonks' eyes were full of mischief.

'Not now though,' Annie urged, 'wait until dinner time.'

And so they did. It was all worked out by the time they re-entered the Great Hall that evening.

First, Tonks would initiate the food fight by targeting a Slytherin who would be sure to react. From her seat at the Hufflepuff table she had a clear shot at a six-foot something Slytherin built like a troll and with the brains to match.

Quietly, Tonks would charm her spoon to make it like elastic, using a very simple charm that Annie had learned in Charms club and since taught to Tonks in two hours. Tonks would test the spoon before carefully loading a spoonful of peas onto her weapon.

Students chattered away around the hall as Tonks took aim at her oblivious target.

Charlie held his breath as he watched Tonks fire the tiny green missiles at the Slytherin's face. He was shovelling a mountain of potatoes into his wide open mouth.

'AAARGH!' he roared as the peas splattered all over his face. The hall fell silent as the titan stood up and yelled. 'WHO DID THAT?'

A couple of Gryffindor first years, including Buck's brother Connor, laughed at the sight of the Slytherin with large green spots all over his face where the peas had burst.

Tonks was just getting ready to aim a secondary barrage of vegetables when, unfortunately for the first years, the Slytherin took their sniggers as an admission of guilt and launched his plate of chicken, mashed potatoes and runner beans at them.

Considering that he was the opposite side of the Hall, he had a very good range. The first years squealed as they slid off their bench and hid from the plate as it smashed into where they had just been sitting.

The hall was silent with shock as the golden plate clattered to the floor. Mashed potato slid from the bench to the floor and the first years cautiously peeked over the bench from underneath the Gryffindor table.

Even the staff at the High Table were stunned into silence.

Tonks took her opportunity and yelled, as loud as she could.

'FOOD FIGHT!' And all hell broke loose.

Golden crockery flew through the air of the Great Hall, tumbling beneath the cloudy ceiling and splattering students of all ages with their contents.

Students of every house launched spoonfuls of vegetables at anyone they could before realising that handfuls were much more efficient.

Prefects up and down the House tables tried in vain to settle their House mates.

The Head Boy, Andrew Woods, attempted to disarm some of the older students who were using serving charms to bat large amounts of food across the Hall in the fashion of Muggle Tennis. He himself took a plate of gateaux to the face and gave up on attempting to restrain anyone.

Up at the staff table Professor McGonagall was shooting purple firecrackers into the air in the hope that it would distract the food fighters. None of the staff wanted to enter the fray lest they become targets themselves and end up head to toe in sticky toffee pudding.

For the first time, Charlie noticed that Professor Dumbledore was absent from the meal.

Charlie and Buck grinned at each other before launching a volley of Yorkshire Puddings across the hall. Charlie grabbed a chicken wing from a plate before Fergus sent them flying towards the Ravenclaw table. To Charlie's surprise, Gwenog Jones was actively participating in the food fight, despite her position as team captain and prefect.

'TAKE THAT SPINKS!' She yelled, hurling a dish of mashed potatoes at the Hufflepuff captain, Phil Spinks.

'I thought they were going out,' Reg shrugged, bowling a scrambled egg over the Hufflepuff table to the Ravenclaw table. Unfortunately for the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, they were getting most of the hits because the Slytherins were aiming for the Gryffindors but falling short onto the Hufflepuffs, and the Gryffindors were doing the same but hitting the Ravenclaws.

Charlie was distracted from replying to Reg as Tonks had just launched some carrot cake at him and accurately targeted the side of his face. Her mischievous grin and a wiggle of her eyebrows was all Charlie needed to launch a new torrent of buttered beans and pineapple cubes at his pink-haired friend.

By that point the teachers at the staff table had had enough.

'SILENCE!' Professor Snape roared. The tinkling of crockery dropping to the floor was the only sound in the hall. Every eye was turned to the black-robed and fuming potions master. Snape swooped down to student level and headed menacingly over to the Hufflepuff table, stopping in front of Tonks.

'Nymphadora Tonks.' He hissed his voice audible to every ear in the massive room. Professor McGonagall looked on apprehensively.

Charlie's brain seemed to have stopped working. He could see that Tonks was in for some serious trouble and that Snape's dislike for Tonks was escalating into all out hatred. Charlie could only think about one thing, and that was helping Tonks.

'What are you doing?' Buck demanded. Charlie's hand was edging towards the large plate of trifle. He had a clear aim at the back of Snape's greasy head.

The trifle was heavy in Charlie's hand, but he held it steady. Snape was glaring at Tonks, with that look that always felt as though he was reading your mind.

'Don't do it.' Buck hissed again.

Charlie's hand went back, loaded with trifle.

'Your funeral.'

The trifle tumbled through the air, splashes of custard spiralled out from the dish, until it landed with an unexpected _thwump_ on the back of Snape's head.

The hall gave a collective gasp. It wasn't just Charlie who had taken aim at the unpopular potions master, but also Scabior, a dark-haired Slytherin boy, had nailed Snape with a fistful of fruitcake.

'You three,' Snape's voice was cold. His eyes were dark and dangerous as he slowly pointed at Tonks, Charlie, and Scabior. 'Come.'

That was all Snape said before stalking out of the Hall, trifle and fruitcake mixed in his black hair.

Buck looked despairingly at Charlie as the latter carefully stepped away from the Gryffindor table and headed to the Grand Staircase. Charlie carefully avoided puddles of beverages and puddings, thinking how embarrassing it would be to slip and fall at that moment.

Almost on cue, Tonks stumbled and fell on a slick of crème _brûlée_. Charlie quickly doubled back to help her up amongst the giggles that had broken out in the tense Hall.

'I'm okay!' Tonks told her spectators, with a wave. 'I'm okay!'

'Not after Snape gets through with us we aren't,' Charlie reminded her gravely.

Scabior was already at the doors of the Hall when Charlie and Tonks joined him. Snape was waiting impatiently on the first floor landing.

'When you're quite done making a fool of yourself Nymphadora.'

Tonks' hair flushed.

'Easy,' Charlie warned. 'Don't give him any more reason to feed us to a chimera.'

Tonks merely glowered in Snape's direction. Scabior quietly made his way up to Snape with Charlie and Tonks.

They followed Snape along the first floor corridor until they came to a dead end, marked only by an extremely ugly gargoyle.

'Cauldron cakes,' Snape told the gargoyle and it quickly sprung aside. The wall behind it split in two revealing a moving spiral staircase. Snape, Scabior, Charlie and Tonks stepped onto the staircase as it ascended. The gargoyle hopped back into place as the wall closed once more. The four silent passengers rode the staircase in circles, higher and higher, until they reached a polished oak door with a brass knocker in the shape of a griffon.

'Dumbledore's office,' Charlie breathed as Snape took the griffon knocker in hand and knocked on the door.

Charlie wasn't sure what was louder, as he stood, waiting for Dumbledore to answer the door, the brass knocker or his own heartbeat.

The oak door silently opened and Snape stalked through it, followed by the three apprehensive troublemakers. Snape still had bits of trifle in his hair.

'Ah, Severus,' Albus Dumbledore smiled from behind his desk. Charlie swallowed hard, gazing around the circular office. There were stacks of books upon shelves and delicate silver instruments puffing out smoke on a nearby table.

'Why don't you four pull up a seat?' Dumbledore waved his wand and four squashy purple armchairs appeared out of nowhere.

'I prefer to stand,' Snape said haltingly.

'Very well Severus, though while you stand Miss Tonks, Mr Weasley and Mr Scabior may be seated.' Charlie filed around the front of the desk between Tonks and Scabior, settling into one of the armchairs. It really was exceptionally comfortable. 'What was it you wanted to talk to me about?' Dumbledore asked Snape.

'Well, Headmaster, considering that you missed dinner this evening,' Snape began.

'Ah yes,' Dumbledore interrupted, 'I decided that it would be best to leave dinner for this evening as I would rather not stain my new robes. They're silk you know.' Dumbledore showed them all the new turquoise silk robes that he was wearing.

'Very nice Professor,' Tonks complimented. Charlie glanced at her and she shrugged.

Snape, meanwhile, was spluttering. 'Y-you knew that this would happen? You knew that these _students,_' Snape put as much venom as possible into that one word, 'would start a food fight?'

'A food fight?' Dumbledore beamed with surprise. 'Of course not Severus, I just had a feeling. Besides, it looks like you had a lot of fun without me there.'

'A lot of-' Snape took a deep disbelieving breath. 'Headmaster, these three students have not only taken part in, and perhaps initiated, a mass rebellion of the school, but have also assaulted a teacher!'

'I see Severus,' Dumbledore looked over the tops of his half-moon glasses. 'What would you suggest I do with these perpetrators?'

Before Snape could suggest what Charlie was sure would be a foolproof way to make Charlie's life a misery, Professor McGonagall entered the office.

'I have set the students the task of beginning to clean the Great Hall. Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout are taking charge of the effort.'

'Excellent Minerva,' Dumbledore smiled, 'do take a seat. Severus, you were saying?'

'Headmaster, I personally feel that expulsion would be the most suitable punishment for such a flouting of the school rules.'

Dumbledore cut in over Charlie, Tonks, Scabior and Professor McGonagall's objections.

'You cannot expel them Severus.' Dumbledore settled.

'As I assumed, so I suggest that Miss Tonks be attached to Mr Filch for six months to assist with cleaning duties, _without magic_, and also suspension from the duelling club.'

Tonks' jaw dropped, 'six months with Filch!'

'_Mister _Filch,' Dumbledore reminded her pleasantly.

'And suspension from the duelling club.' Snape reiterated, enjoying Tonks' outrage.

'Three months.' Charlie couldn't believe it. Tonks was attempting to barter detentions with Snape.

'Six months.' Snape repeated.

'Four months.'

'Seven.'

'Four and a half.'

'Eight.'

'That's enough!' Professor McGonagall cut in. Dumbledore, meanwhile, was amusedly watching the deliberation. 'Nymphadora, six months cleaning duty with Mr Filch.'

Tonks slumped back in her chair.

'Just as arrogant and insolent as her cousin.' Snape sneered. _Uh-oh_, Charlie thought as Tonks' hair flared red and she sprung to her feet, ready to take on the potions master.

'NYMPHADORA TONKS SIT DOWN OR IT WILL BE EIGHT MONTHS!' Professor McGonagall ordered.

Tonks sat down, fuming.

'So Miss Tonks here has her detention sorted out, what about Mr Scabior and Mr Weasley?' Professor Dumbledore asked.

Snape, jaw clenched in anger, managed to speak. 'Mr Scabior, for assaulting his Head of House, shall serve three months detention with Mr Filch, and three months with me.'

Charlie shot a glance over to the Slytherin sat beside him. Scabior looked unaffected by it all.

'And Mr Weasley?'

'Suspension from the Gryffindor Quidditch team.' Snape answered immediately.

'Nonsense,' McGonagall insisted. 'It was obvious to everyone in that hall that Mr Weasley was simply helping a friend in trouble, as misguided an action as it was, there is no reason for his position on the house Quidditch team to be affected. Perhaps assisting Hagrid with his ground-keeping work?'

'Absolutely not. Weasley seems to enjoy spending time with Hagrid outdoors.' Snape argued.

'Then detention with me. I'm sure I can find things for Weasley to do around the school, maybe helping out other teachers around the school.' McGonagall suggested.

Charlie tried not to look hopeful. That sounded like a good deal, at least.

Snape seemingly couldn't come up with a better solution so he nodded his head curtly. 'For six months. The same punishment period as Miss Tonks.'

'There we are then,' Dumbledore clapped his hands together. 'Mr Weasley will be a general dogsbody for Minerva for six months, Miss Tonks will help Mr Filch for six months, and Mr Scabior will help both Mr Filch and Severus here for three months each. I shall also be writing to your parents.' Dumbledore looked seriously at Charlie and the other two. 'Is everyone happy with that?'

No one said anything. Charlie was sure that Tonks still wanted to complain though.

'If that is all.' Snape excused himself.

'Oh, Severus,' Dumbledore called just as Snape was reaching for the door. 'Could you bring me up some of the fruitcake? I heard it was scrumptious.'

Charlie could have sworn that Dumbledore had winked at him as Snape, sallow cheeks flushing pink, stormed out of the office, crumbs of fruitcake and trifle still in his hair.

'Minerva, if you could escort these students back down to the Great Hall to help out with the cleaning effort,' the Headmaster smiled.

Professor McGonagall did so, but not before taking fifty house points each from the three students.

'You can count yourselves _extremely _lucky for this.' She warned them, releasing them back to their house tables.

* * *

><p>Once the Great Hall was reasonably cleaned (which didn't take long with over a hundred students helping) they were all dismissed back to their dormitories.<p>

'Hey, Charlie,' Tonks caught up with him before he reached the Grand Staircase, 'I was thinking about what McGonagall said about you throwing the trifle at Snape to get me out of trouble and I have to ask, why did you do it?'

Charlie hesitated. He'd had time while cleaning and ignoring Buck's teasing to think about his actions, and he was still none the wiser.

He shrugged, 'Well I couldn't let you have all the fun in detention, could I?'

Tonks had to laugh, 'See you tomorrow Charlie.' She waved, heading down the staircase to the Hufflepuff dorm.


	17. Christmas

The following day Charlie received quite a shock at breakfast. The usual flurry of owls burst into the Great Hall for breakfast and Charlie saved a plate of bacon from being hit by a crash-landing Errol. Charlie paled as he saw what the ageing owl had delivered. In Errol's beak was a red envelope – a howler.

'Grab it and run.' Buck advised, leaning away from the envelope as though it was going to explode.

'Why? What is it?' Annie asked, peering at the envelope curiously.

'A howler,' Charlie jumped up from the bench, grabbed the letter and ran from the hall. The envelope began to smoke around the edges. Charlie threw himself into the first floor boys' toilets and ripped open the envelope before it opened of its own accord.

'CHARLES WEASLEY!' Charlie's mother's voice echoed around the chamber. 'HOW DARE YOU INSTIGATE A FOOD FIGHT?' Charlie wondered whether the sound was carrying to the Great Hall. 'I AM ABSOLUTELY SHOCKED! I NEVER WOULD HAVE THOUGHT YOU WOULD BE SO FOOLISH! AND THROWING FOOD AT A TEACHER! IT'S OUTRAGEOUS! I DON'T CARE HOW MUCH YOU DISLIKE PROFESSOR SNAPE; YOU DO NOT THROW TRIFLE AT ANYONE! YOU AND BILL ARE SUPPOSED TO BE SETTING AN EXAMPLE TO YOUR BROTHERS AND GINNY! I AM FORBIDDING YOU FROM PARTICIPATING IN ANY MORE SILLY PRANKS WITH NYMPHADORA TONKS! YOU'RE PUTTING YOUR OWN ACADEMIC FUTURE AT RISK AND I WILL NOT STAND FOR YOU TO WASTE YOUR TIME LIKE THIS! I EXPECT YOU TO DEDICATE THE REST OF THE YEAR TO QUIDDITCH PRACTICE AND STUDYING! IF I HAVE ANOTHER LETTER FROM PROFESSOR MCGONAGALL YOU WILL BE SORRY!'

Charlie's ears were ringing as the letter burst into flames above the sink and crumbled into ashes.

A cubicle door creaked open and third year Slytherin Mundungus Fletcher emerged, looking shaken.

'What the bloody hell was that?'

* * *

><p>Charlie wasn't sure what to make of the Slytherin now on his radar. Scabior was pretty much an anomaly in Charlie's perception of all things Slytherin.<p>

Firstly, you had Thorfinn Rowle. He was thick-necked and blond with a mean streak matched by his buddy, Gibbon. Robert Gibbon was quiet and surly, and he didn't take kindly to jokes made about his last name.

'Hey Gibbon!' Buck had called as they queued outside Defence class. 'I think you dropped something!' Buck dangled a banana skin from his hand and waved it towards Gibbon's furiously red face.

The only thing that saved Buck from being beaten by Gibbon's own ape-like hands was Professor Birch letting the class into his lesson. The new Professor was wearing an amusing jumper with a black cat on the front.

'Nice jumper, sir,' Charlie had complimented, trying desperately to keep a straight face.

'Thank you Weasley!' he had replied with an oblivious skip in his step.

The third Slytherin was Boris Zolinski, nicknamed Bozo because no one could be bothered to say his last name. Bozo was short, with a messy afro of black hair that looked like pipe cleaners. He also wasn't particularly bright, making his nickname all the more relevant. He hung around Rowle and Gibbon like a rather dull shadow that laughed when nothing was funny and couldn't even do their homework for them. It seemed that the only thing Bozo was good for was creating and spreading gossip.

He'd recently gotten into trouble with Ravenclaw sixth year John Dawlish by spreading rumours that he was cheating on his girlfriend with fifth year Agatha Timms.

Bozo's sudden attack of boils was just subsiding after that encounter.

Then there was Stan Shunpike. Thin and lanky, with a strong cockney accent and even stronger acne, Charlie had often wondered how Shunpike had been Sorted into Slytherin. He and Tonks had even confronted Shunpike about it.

'How did you get into Slytherin?' Charlie had asked him. 'I thought Slytherins were meant to be cunning and ambitious.'

'Yeah,' Shunpike had answered, his wide eyes flitting about in their sockets, 'maybe I'm so cunnin' I'm makin' you fink I'm not cunnin'!'

Charlie and Tonks shared a look of consideration.

'Nah,' they both shrugged. Shunpike looked disappointed.

The only Slytherin Charlie didn't know much about was William Scabior. Charlie saw him hang back in the queue for lessons, away from his Slytherin house-mates. Charlie had pointed it out to Annie and Buck more than once.

'So they guy's a loner, not our problem,' Buck had shrugged unhelpfully.

So when Scabior had thrown that fruitcake at Snape, at the same time Charlie had thrown the trifle, Charlie was more than a bit curious to find out why he did it.

His opportunity to investigate came a few days after the food fight when packing up after Potions.

'Weasley! Scabior! Stop dawdling or I'll take twenty points from Gryffindor!' Snape barked as Charlie hurriedly stuffed his textbook into his bag. He decided not to enrage Snape further by pointing out that Scabior was, in fact, in Slytherin, and therefore some points should be taken from Snape's own house. It was just as well Charlie had stayed quiet or his head might well have ended up pickled in a jar upon the many shelves around the Potions classroom.

Charlie had already told Buck and Annie that he'd meet them in the Great Hall, so it was just Charlie and Scabior making their way back up the dungeon corridor.

'Hey, Scabior,' Charlie called. The boy with long black hair paused and turned so Charlie could catch up with him.

Charlie stuck out his hand. 'We haven't really spoken before so, uh, I'm Charlie Weasley,' he said by way of introduction.

Scabior shook it. 'Will Scabior.'

'I was just wondering why you threw that cake at Snape the other day.'

Scabior gave Charlie a sideways glance.

'I could say the same for you.' Charlie noticed a North London inflection in Scabior's voice, pronouncing his 'th's as 'f's.

'I didn't want my best friend to get detention on her own,' he told the Slytherin as they climbed the dungeon staircase.

'A noble gesture,' Charlie couldn't tell if that was sarcastic or not. He was pretty sure it was though.

'As well as Snape being a git,' Charlie continued. To his surprise, Scabior laughed.

'That's more like it,' the Slytherin chuckled.

'So why did you bulls-eye Snape?' Charlie asked again.

'Same reason you just said – I don't like the guy.'

Charlie stopped, 'I thought all Slytherins liked Snape? He doesn't take points off you for no reason.'

'Well this Slytherin doesn't like him,' Scabior halted next to Charlie. 'I just don't like people who think they're better than me for no good reason.'

They continued walking.

'It was good talking to you Scabior,' Charlie said as they entered the Great Hall. 'We should throw stuff at Snape more often.'

'Don't tempt me Weasley,' Scabior smirked, heading over to the Slytherin table.

'What took you so long?' Buck demanded as Charlie reached the Gryffindor table.

'I was talking,' he replied vaguely, tucking into a roast dinner.

That evening, Professor McGonagall came around asking for the names of those staying for Christmas.

Charlie signed up right away with Buck, Annie, Tonks and Don. Bill decided to go home for Christmas.

'It's been too long since I had a Christmas dinner at home,' he told Charlie, 'three years is a long time to go without Mum's Christmas pudding.'

So Charlie's 13th Birthday came and went with a bucket of home-made fudge, some joke shop supplies, Chocolate Frogs and a new Wizard's Chessboard. But then it was time for Bill and half the school to get their bags packed and head out to the carriages that would take them to the Hogwarts Express and back to London.

Just like that the halls of Hogwarts were empty and Charlie and Buck had their dorm to themselves.

'So what are we going to do this Christmas?' Charlie asked the gang as they walked the halls a few days before Christmas Eve.

'Maybe we should explore the castle a bit more now it's empty?' Tonks suggested. 'Do you guys mind if I invite Scabior along? He's been really nice to me since the food fight.'

No one had a problem with that, though Buck did point out that 'he's a Slytherin,' which Tonks completely ignored.

So the six of them searched Hogwarts from top to bottom to find more secret passageways and disused rooms than they had before. They found a disused Prefect's bathroom on the third floor, just off the Gunhilda of Gorsemoor corridor, which contained a portrait of Valeria Myriadd that lead to Gryffindor Tower when given the password 'pig snout'. Then there was the portrait of Circe on the fourth floor landing that hid yet another passageway to the Entrance Hall side-room.

'Do you guys go exploring the castle a lot then?' Scabior asked as they snooped around the sixth floor corridor.

'All the time,' Tonks informed him as she scrutinised a portrait of Bridget Wenlock. 'This one looks promising,' she called to the gang, but before they could properly investigate Filch wheezed along and shooed them away.

* * *

><p>Charlie woke early on Christmas Day to find a pile of presents at the foot of his bed. According to his bedside clock it was four am. The rest of his dorm was asleep so, ignoring the presents, he quietly slipped on some clothes and a cloak before making his way out to the grounds for an early morning walk. To his surprise, he found Tonks out by the lake, her hair a sky-blue colour.<p>

'How come you're here so early?' he asked her, settling down beside her on a rock along the icy shore.

Tonks shrugged, 'I couldn't sleep. You?'

'I felt like a walk,' Charlie confessed. 'So why can't you sleep?'

Tonks picked at a chip in the rock before replying. 'It's nothing really, just something Snape said after the food fight.'

Charlie thought back to that evening in Dumbledore's office and all the things Snape had said. "_Just as arrogant and insolent as her cousin,_" Snape had sneered.

'The thing about your cousin?'

Tonks nodded.

'Why does it bother you so much?'

'You know the issues with my Mum's family. People keep saying I'm like them and I can't stand it.' She took a deep breath. 'I haven't told anyone this before, but on our first day the Sorting Hat said I was a Black. It said I had the confidence, skills and arrogance of the rest of them. It even considered putting me in Slytherin.'

'That would have been weird,' Charlie joked, trying to put a smile on her face. It didn't work.

'A few weeks ago there was an announcement in the Daily Prophet that my great aunt Walberga had died. She's my Mum's aunt, Sirius' mother. The obituary they gave wasn't kind. It went through all the anti-Muggle laws she supported and about raising two Death Eaters. She really wasn't a nice person at all, I know. But she was still part of my family. And then Snape coming out with that line about me being as arrogant and insolent as my cousin. It just got to me.'

Charlie wasn't sure what to say. He knew who her cousin was – Sirius Black, who had been arrested for the murder of twelve Muggles and a wizard four years ago. 'Is there any chance Snape was talking about another cousin?' It was a slim chance, and Charlie instantly regretted saying it.

Tonks forced a laugh, 'Nope, all my cousins in the Wizarding world are either in prison, were Death Eaters or are Malfoys.'

'I'm not sure which is worse.' That got a chuckle out of her at least. 'Come on, let's go for a walk. You're not them, no matter what other people say.'

He offered her a hand getting up from the rock. Just as well, because she almost slipped right off it onto the icy covering of the lake.

'Thanks Charlie,' she smiled.

They took a walk around the shore of the lake chatting about more cheery things, like their six month detentions and what pranks they could pull over the next few months.

'You know, we haven't actually explored the forest yet.' Tonks pointed out as they rounded the curve of the lake.

Charlie snorted, 'good luck getting Buck, Annie and Don on side with that.'

Tonks' grey eyes sparkled, 'We could just go ourselves if they don't want to come.'

They walked to the edge of the forest. Icicles hung from the outermost branches of the trees and a blanket of snow layered the tops of the vast forest. Charlie became distracted by a small clump of frosted red berries hanging from one of the trees. They looked so delicate. Each individual flake of ice that cocooned the berries refracted the rising sunlight.

'Look at it Tonks, it's amazing,' he breathed. Tonks came over and rested on his shoulder as they both stared intently at the shining berries.

They were jolted from their fascination by Hagrid emerging from his hut.

'What are you two doin' up so early?'

'Walking,' Charlie told the giant gamekeeper.

'Fancy a cup o' tea?'

There was still plenty of time before the rest of the school awoke for Christmas breakfast so Charlie and Tonks graciously accepted Hagrid's offer.

'You realise we just spent five minutes staring at some berries, right?' Tonks whispered to Charlie as they entered Hagrid's Hut. Charlie shrugged with a smirk.

Hagrid's massive boarhound, Fang, drooled all over Charlie's cloak hem while Hagrid bustled about making tea.

'Enjoyin' yer second year?' Hagrid asked. 'Apart from gettin' into food fights?' His beetle black eyes glittered as he shot the pair a quick smile.

Charlie told Hagrid all about his Quidditch practices, and Tonks spoke about Duelling Club. Then it was time to head back up to the castle for breakfast, accompanied by Hagrid.

'Tonks! There you are, we didn't know where you'd gone!' Robin squealed when she saw them. 'Hi Charlie.'

'I'll leave yeh to it,' Hagrid excused himself, shuffling over to the staff table where Professor Dumbledore was waving to him.

Charlie sat with Tonks and the other Hufflepuff second years until the rest of the Gryffindors came downstairs.

'Don't forget about the forest thing,' Tonks reminded him as he left. 'I'm holding you to it Weasley.'

* * *

><p><em><strong>*The berries part was inspired by this post: post16419374092/writers-block-a-picture-says-a-thousand-words**_


	18. Interval - Scabior

_**Scabior**_

William Scabior bitterly tore up the parchment letter sent to him from his parents. Rather than Christmas wishes it contained harsh words and disappointment. It seemed that Mr and Mrs Scabior didn't think much of their son's newfound association with a Hufflepuff and a Gryffindor in the light of the recent food fight.

_Half-bloods like that Tonks girl are a disgrace to all of us with Wizarding blood. Her mother chose her path when she left the Black family for that Muggle. And don't even get started on the Weasleys – blood traitors, the lot of them._

Scabior could remember some of the lines of his father's scruffy script as he sat in the dark light of the Slytherin dungeon. The long common room was empty in the early hours of Christmas morning; most of the House had left Hogwarts for the holidays. Scabior stretched out on the leather sofa and thought back to the letter.

_You were raised better than this William. Never forget that you are a Slytherin and you will get nowhere in life by turning on those of your own House and family. You had better be thankful that I've spoken to Professor Snape. He has assured me that your actions were not your own and your insolence was down to association with that girl._

Will rolled his eyes. Mr Scabior was a hard man who strived for recognition in the Wizarding world, and he believed that the only way to get it was through associating with the right people. People like the Blacks, the Malfoys, the Selwyns and the Runcorns. And he was most displeased to find that his only son didn't feel the same.

The relationship that Will had with his parents was not an easy one, hence why he stayed at school for the holidays rather than returning home, as half of his dorm had. The young Scabior felt that people made their own way in the world, independent of others, and had to earn respect. That was just one of the reasons that had made him throw half a plate of fruitcake at his Head of House, Professor Severus Snape.

As the dawn outside the castle broke, the green fire and lamp lights of the Slytherin common room grew brighter. Spindly serpentine tables glinted in the firelight. Scabior threw the parchment scraps onto the fire, watching as the flames greedily ate up the parchment. Words stood out before being consumed. _Mudblood. Disgrace. Shame._

Scabior got to his feet, stretching, and returned down the tiled passageway to his dormitory. Shunpike was still snoring and Gibbon was stirring. Rowle and Zolinski had left for the holidays.

'Why are you up so early?' Gibbon demanded, pushing himself up into a sitting position.

Scabior shrugged. 'Bathroom.' He rooted around in his trunk for some clothes to change into.

Gibbon cast his gaze over to the snoring Shunpike. 'Wake him up will you?'

'Why don't you?' Scabior retorted, irritated by the way Gibbon and Rowle would get others to do things for them.

'Whatever.' Gibbon sneered, throwing the covers off him and stalking over to Shunpikes bed. 'Oi, Pikey!'

'What?' Shunpike jerked awake. 'Bleedin' 'ell Gibb! You scared me 'arf to deaf there!'

'Wakey wakey Pike,' Gibbon announced, heading to the bathroom. 'And cheer up Scabior, you look like you've been slapped in the face.'

''e's right y'know,' Shunpike nodded, but then his eyes rested on his small stack of presents beside his bed. 'Cor, me uncle Ern's sent me somefink!' he exclaimed seizing a small box.

Scabior ran a hand through his long messy hair. 'Great Stan.'

'Blimey you're dull today.' Gibbon returned from the bathroom. 'You know why Pike? It's because his plan failed.'

'What plan?' Stan's beady eyes flitted up from his half-opened present.

'His plan with the Tonks girl,' Gibbon drawled. 'Obviously he thought throwing something at Snape would get him closer to her, but he didn't count on that ginger Weasel doing the same.'

'Shut up.' Scabior gritted his teeth. The other boys had been teasing him about Tonks ever since the food fight and the annoying this was that their jokes weren't far from the truth. Scabior had thrown the fruitcake at Snape because he liked Tonks. She at least spoke to him in class and didn't judge him for being in Slytherin, like everyone else did.

'Touched a nerve have I, Scab?' Scabior hated the nickname. He threw on his robes and stormed out of the dorm. Gibbons booming laugh was shut off as Scabior slammed the door shut. He headed up to the Great Hall for an early Christmas breakfast.


	19. Detention

Bill returned to Hogwarts the day before term recommenced with a slice of Mrs Weasley's Christmas pudding for Charlie, and shocking news from home.

'You would not have believed how angry Mum was, and that was nothing compared to Dad.' Bill shook his head. 'I've never seen Dad so furious in my life.'

Charlie listened to the tale, open mouthed. Arthur had walked into Fred and George's room to find them with five year old Ron, making an Unbreakable Vow.

'They were just starting the third Vow when it happened. They'd taken Dad's wand from his bedside table and he'd gone looking for it. I was downstairs with Mum, Ginny and Percy at the time. I thought the ghoul has escaped the attic before I realised it was Dad shouting at the twins.'

'What did he do?' Charlie asked, trying to imagine his father angry. He just couldn't do it.

'Next thing I knew, Fred and George were jumping down the stairs with Dad running after them broom in hand! Fred couldn't sit down for the whole next week.'

Charlie winced. 'Ouch. What about George?'

'Oh he was alright; it was Fred who had been doing the spell so he got the worst of it. But Mum and Dad separated them for a couple of days as punishment. George got to spend the next few days looking after Ginny with Mum while Fred was with Percy and Dad.'

'Well at least it's made Mum forget about the food fight. I'm glad I stayed here,' Charlie breathed, 'we only managed to get Birch in the face with a snowball.'

* * *

><p>Charlie, Tonks and Scabior's detentions began at the start of the new term with an owl to each of them about when their first session would start.<p>

**'_Mr Weasley_,'** Charlie read Professor McGonagall's slanted script.

**'_Your detention will begin tonight at 20:30. Please arrive promptly at my office_. _Bring protective gloves._**

**_Professor M. McGonagall'_**

Buck had been reading the letter over Charlie's shoulder.

'Bring protective gloves? I wonder what you'll be doing,' he said.

Charlie shrugged. 'Hopefully nothing as bad as Tonks or Scabior.'

Sure enough, not even two minutes later, Tonks came marching over to the Gryffindor table.

'Guess what that miserable old troll is making us do?' she threw a scrunched up piece of parchment to Charlie. He unfolded it and read aloud.

'Miss Tonks…detention with Mr Filch…polishing the trophy room…no magic allowed.'

'Ouch,' Buck grimaced, 'you'll be there all night. Have you seen how many trophies there are in that room?'

Annie jabbed him in the ribs, '_Not. Helping_.'

'At least you'll have Scabior to keep you company,' Annie pointed out. Tonks shrugged.

'I guess, but Filch probably won't let us talk at all.'

Before he knew it 8:30 had arrived and Charlie found himself knocking at Professor McGonagall's office door. He'd been given a pile of homework already as the teachers began gearing the second years towards their exam preparation.

The door to McGonagall's office opened and Charlie poked his head around the door. The transfiguration teacher was sat at her desk, beside a pile of parchment she was marking. The ravens above Charlie's head cawed.

'Come in Weasley,' she beckoned. 'I've been informed that you have an interest in creatures. Is that so?'

'Yes Professor.'

'Then you might enjoy cleaning out the animal cages this evening.' Charlie looked to the ceiling where a number of cages hung, all containing an animal used for transfiguration practice. McGonagall waved her wand and a dozen cages floated down from the ceiling. Mice squeaked as their cages settled onto the desks.

'I trust you brought your protective gloves?' Charlie pulled the dragon-hide gloves from the pocket of his robes. 'You have a scrubbing brush and a bowl of water on the front desk, and a spare cage to hold the animals. Try not to lose them,' McGonagall informed him. 'I'm sure you're well aware by now, from your string of detentions last year, no magic is to be used during your detention.'

'Yes Professor.' Charlie slipped on his gloves and picked up the cage closest to him. It contained a large mouse, about the size of Percy's pet rat Scabbers. The mouse was pure white with red eyes. It scrabbled at the bars of the cage when Charlie put his face closer to it to look at the mouse.

'C'mere little feller,' he whispered. Charlie could feel the rodent's body expanding and contracting as it breathed. He carefully placed the mouse in the spare cage, clean of dirt and muck. 'I bet you make a really impressive snuffbox,' he told the mouse.

Charlie tried his best to ignore the smell of mouse droppings as he set to cleaning the cage. Before long, he was used to it. Professor McGonagall's nose wrinkled as the stench washed over her every few minutes.

By the time the two hours were up, Charlie was just finishing up the last mouse cage. Professor McGonagall came over to inspect his handiwork.

'Good job Weasley,' she nodded with approval. 'You'll be doing the same thing the night after tomorrow with the ravens.' With another wave of her wand, all the mouse cages returned to their original places among the other animal cages. 'Goodnight Mr Weasley.'

Charlie waved goodbye to the animals and headed back up to Gryffindor tower. The good feeling he'd had while cleaning the animals vanished when he contemplated the pile of homework still waiting for him.

Surprisingly, Tonks had a better detention than expected, despite the evening featuring two hours with Filch and a lot of polishing.

'Will made it really funny,' Tonks told Charlie in Herbology, a huge grin on her face, 'he kept doing these impressions of Filch whenever he wasn't looking.'

Charlie put on a smile while she retold the story. He felt a bit put out knowing that Tonks was having a good time in detention when Charlie was on his own, especially as he'd gotten himself into trouble to help her out. His pleasure at having an easy and relaxing detention was no longer something Charlie felt happy about.

'So how was your detention?' Tonks finally asked when she finished her tale.

Charlie shrugged, 'you know, the usual, boring cleaning stuff.'

'Oh,' Tonks lapsed into silence.

Charlie thought, as they walked back up to the castle after the lesson, how weird it was that Tonks was calling Scabior by his first name.

'Don says they sometimes talk to each other in Defence Against the Dark Arts,' Annie told him when he pointed it out to her at lunch. 'Does it bother you?'

Charlie scoffed, 'Why would that bother me?'

Annie raised a single eyebrow. Charlie caught her shooting sideways glances at him for the rest of the day.

* * *

><p>With his detentions, homework, revision, and Quidditch practices all going on at once, Charlie had very little time for anything else. When Slytherin beat Ravenclaw by over two hundred points, Gwenog became manic in her preparation. The onslaught of wind and rain didn't help; Charlie could barely remember what it felt like to be warm and dry.<p>

'Charlie, you're dripping.' Annie complained as Charlie threw himself down on one of the Gryffindor sofas. Buck sat down on Annie's other side. 'Ergh, have you ever heard of a drying charm?'

'Obviously not,' Rose sniffed, recoiling from Buck's damp smell.

'Go and get changed,' Annie told the pair.

'Only if I can have a look at your Herbology homework,' Buck smirked.

'Anything, just get away from us,' Ellie Elkins squealed as Charlie shook his growing hair all over them, spraying water everywhere. Julia squirmed, sheltering her homework from the drops.

'Merlin's beard, I can't wait until this Hufflepuff match is over,' Charlie told Buck as he emerged from the shower, 'I don't think I can feel my big toe.'

'I don't think I ever had a big toe,' Buck shrugged, wrapping a towel around his waist, 'it's been too long since I've had any feeling in it.'

* * *

><p>Charlie finished his detentions with Professor McGonagall and was handed over to Professor Flitwick. Weirdly, he would miss spending time with the animals and cleaning their cages.<p>

Charlie turned up at the tiny Charms teacher's classroom on the third floor wondering what he would be doing for the next few Monday evenings.

'Come in Weasley,' Flitwick squeaked as Charlie poked his head around the door. 'I'm afraid your detention this evening will be rather dull. You'll be cleaning the desks, students seem to feel the need to dispose of their gum on the underside of them so it'll be your job to clean it all off. Here is your tool.'

Charlie made a face, wishing he was back in McGonagall's office already. He picked up the metal ruler from Flitwick's desk and made a start on the desks, lying on his back staring at the underside of the wooden tables. It was unpleasant work. Charlie scraped and scraped at the hardened clumps of Drooble's Best Blowing Gum and rolled out of the way as they fell.

Halfway through the detention Charlie reached the back of the classroom. He flung himself down on the floor and gazed up at the desk. As Charlie hacked away at the clusters he slowly began to uncover some graffiti: the initials _S.O.B, R.J.L _and _P.P _as well as the bold cutting _J.P + L.E_. Curious, Charlie stuck his head above the desk.

'Sir? Whose initials are these?'

Flitwick toddled over and looked underneath the desk. Strangely, he sighed unhappily. 'Don't you worry about those Weasley,' the little professor advised. 'Some old students, that's all.' He returned to his desk and was quiet for the rest of Charlie's detention. When Charlie told him that he had finished, Flitwick dismissed Charlie early, staring sadly into the distance, absently offering Charlie a cupcake. Charlie didn't know what to make of it.

* * *

><p>March arrived and the Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff match was all Charlie could think about. Professor McGonagall even excused Charlie and Buck from extra homework in the weeks running up to the match.<p>

'Just don't tell anyone,' she had winked before dismissing them from her classroom with a 'good luck' and a gingerbread newt. 'Cooper, Weasley – do try to win won't you?'

'Yes Professor,' Charlie promised.

Saturday dawned and Charlie and Buck were awoken by Gwenog Jones bursting into their dormitory.

'UP!' she ordered as though they were a pair of broomsticks. Charlie jerked awake; Buck smacked his head on his bedside cabinet. Reg snorted and Fergus fell out of bed.

'Why does she keep doing that?' Fergus moaned from the floor. But the two Quidditch players were already half dressed and heading out of the dorm.

'Good luck boys,' Tonks sneered dropping over to the Gryffindor table. 'You're gonna need it against the 'Puffs.'

Charlie rolled his eyes. Tonks was competitive at the best of times, but house Quidditch was a whole other level.

'Let's go team,' Gwenog barked, leading the scarlet and gold clad players out of the Great Hall and down to the pitch. In the changing room Gwenog gave her pre-match speech.

'We beat Slytherin back in November. Hufflepuff should be an easy game, and if we can break that Sphinx's nose along the way, I'd say it's a result. Let's go!'

Charlie offered a confused look to Jon Roberts. Out on the pitch Myron was introducing the Hufflepuffs to the stadium, with much gravitas and flair.

'Yeah, Gwen's been a bit intense since before Christmas. Spinks dumped her for Griffiths, you know, the Ravenclaw chaser.'

'Mount your brooms!' Jones called from the front. Charlie clambered onto his broom, waiting to kick off.

'HERE TO DEFEND THEIR TITLE AS CHAMPIONS - HERE COME THE GRYFFINDORS!'

Charlie kicked hard off the damp ground and sped forward.

'JONES! JENKINS! RYAN! COOPER! DENT! ROBERTS! AAAAAND WEASLEY!' The stadium cheered. Charlie looped the stadium relishing in the chanting.

'GO GO GRYFFINDOR!' Charlie faced fifth year Lennox Campbell in the starting circle. Campbell was short and slim; the right build for a seeker. He shared his red hair with his twin, Angus, who played chaser. Charlie thought that either Gwen or Spinks would spontaneously combust from the heat of each others' glares. As it happened, Madam Hooch had to tell the captains twice to get back on their brooms before blowing her whistle.

'Picked up by Dent, passes to Cooper, over to Roberts, back to Cooper, intercepted by Mullet. What a girl that Olivia Mullet is, I asked her out again the other day. She rejected me, it nearly broke my heart.'

'WAGTAIL.'

'Alright professor. Anyway, Dorny has the Quaffle. Passes to Campbell, a fearsome Scotsman is Campbell, he and his brother too. Have you noticed that both seekers here today are red heads? Do you think red hair has some sort of link to good eyesight? Obviously not as Angus Campbell takes a bludger to the chest! That's got to hurt!'

Charlie grinned as Joey held his beater's bat aloft for the crowd.

'You're going to get it real good Weasley.' Lennox yelled across to Charlie.

'Bring it on!' There was something about being in the air that made Charlie feel indestructible. Charlie rolled quickly to avoid a bludger.

'Dunstan launches a bludger at the Gryffindor seeker! Sorry about that Charlie!'

'It is _not _okay Myron!' Charlie called back, aware that Myron had no chance of hearing him over the chanting crowd.

'Roberts has possession again. Drop it Jon! Only kidding professor,' Myron laughed uneasily. Charlie imagined McGonagall giving her most intense glare. 'Roberts is closing in on the keeper! Save it Sponge! YES! Hufflepuff keeper Spungen saves the first shot of the game! It's nil-nil here at the Quidditch pitch!'

Charlie scanned the stadium while the match resumed. He thought he spotted the snitch once, but then realised it was Professor Dumbledore's half-moon glasses glinting in the obscured sunlight. Ryan had a tough game after that as Hufflepuff doubled their efforts on the Gryffindor goal, conceding two goals from five shots.

'Twenty-nil over at the Quidditch pitch!' Myron informed the spectators. 'Hufflepuff are very strong this year. Gryffindor need to up their game soon to be in with a chance of winning.'

A minute later Buck had scored through the centre Hufflepuff hoop.

'I was joking!' Myron roared over the Gryffindor cheers, 'there's no need to go and do that!'

'Twenty-ten to Hufflepuff and – oh! The Gryffindor keeper is taken out by Spinks! Gwenog Jones isn't too happy about that as she appeals to Madam Hooch for a foul! Yes, it is given!' Charlie watched in anger as Phil 'the Sphinx' Spinks waved to the outraged Gryffindor crowd. Joey Jenkins, Buck and Arthur Dent dived to catch Ryan before he spiralled to the ground. He was stretchered off the pitch by Madam Pomfrey and the Gryffindor goal was left defenceless.

Roberts missed his shot he was in such a furious state. Charlie actually feared for the state of Spinks' health during and after the match. Getting on the wrong side of Gwenog Jones was one thing, but taking out one of her players was the last straw.

'Cooper crosses to Dent, he takes the shot and it goes wide!' the Gryffindor crowd groaned as the rouge Quaffle soared clearly over the centre hoop. Spungen mimed using binoculars and almost got knocked off his broom by an angry bludger from Jenkins.

The tide began to turn when Dorny gave away a penalty for "flying with intent to collide" with Buck. Buck took the shot and scored.

'That's twenty-twenty!' Myron announced. 'Oh, Cooper takes another bold shot at Spungen but it's easily cleared by the experienced keeper. WHAT IS HE DOING? Campbell has locked brooms with Roberts and is steering him off-course! Roberts drops the Quaffle, but what is Madam Hooch going to do with Campbell after that obvious case of blurting? It's a penalty to Gryffindor! I think Spinks is going to need some harsh words with his chasers.'

Sure enough, as Jon lined up to take the shot Spinks was making himself red in the face shouting at his team.

'Roberts shoots – he scores! Thirty-twenty to Gryffindor now at the Quidditch pitch! Gryffindor are back in the game. All bets are on! Oh and uh, betting is obviously against the school rules, so there are in fact no bets on. I repeat Hogwarts, no bets are on. Sorry professor.'

Charlie hovered near the Hufflepuff end as he scanned for the snitch. 'An easy shot for Mullet there as the Gryffindor goal lies wide open, you go Liv! MERLIN'S CODPIECE! Spinks aimed a bludger at Gwenog Jones who retaliated by _throwing_ her beater's bat, with pin-point accuracy I might add, at the Hufflepuff captain. What has gotten into the players today?'

Madam Hooch furiously blew her whistle. 'This is unprecedented ladies and gentlemen,' Myron exclaimed, 'Madam Hooch is ordering both teams to take a five minute time out or she will start sending players off for reckless and unsporting behaviour! What do you think of that Hogwarts?'

The resounding mixture of booing and cheering made nothing any clearer about how the crowd was feeling. Charlie guided his broom down to the pitch floor and gathered along with the rest of his team. Gwen was red in the face.

'I'm sorry team, I don't know what got into me,' she was saying, 'but when Madam Hooch blows that whistle we are going to play the cleanest game anyone has ever seen, even Filch will be impressed.' Charlie suppressed a grin, well aware of Filch's cleaning standards. 'I need one chaser hanging back by the halfway mark at all times in case they get close to our goal. We've got no keeper now so we're vulnerable. Roberts, I'd prefer it if you could hang back, you've got more experience with filling in as keeper.' Jon nodded, his jaw set. 'Weasley, you make it your life's goal to find that damn Snitch before Campbell. Gryffindor!'

'GRYFFINDOR!' They punched the air; Charlie remounted his broom, waiting for Madam Hooch's signal.

The shrill whistle once again pierced the air and Charlie felt the usual stirring in his stomach as he soared above the sound of the crowds, searching for the tiny flitting speck of gold that was the snitch.

'Cooper, Roberts, Dent, Cooper, Dent, DROPS IT! Mullet, Campbell, Mullet, Dorny, tackled by Roberts, narrowly misses a bludger from Dunstan. Roberts versus Spungen now, here he goes, cheeky cross to Dent and it SAILS THROUGH THE LEFT-HAND HOOP!' the Gryffindor crowd went wild. 'That's was perfectly timed handling of the Quaffle there from those two Gryffindor seekers, not many can make a play like that without being picked up for Stooging – that's more than one player in the scoring zone Hogwarts. And the game resumes, forty-twenty now to Gryffindor!'

Charlie allowed himself a loop-de-loop high above the crowd in celebration. His gaze roamed over to the Slytherin quarter of the crowd who were supporting Hufflepuff for the match, well, those who were supporting anyone at least. Then Charlie caught the glimpse he had been waiting for: a fleck of gold against a black background. The snitch was there. Charlie darted towards the Slytherin crowd, careering straight at them.

'I think Weasley's spotted the snitch!' Myron mentioned, almost off-hand, but the crowd bit. They were on their feet tracking Charlie through binoculars and telescopes alike.

'Come on,' Charlie urged his broom on as he saw Campbell trailing out of the corner of his eye. 'Come on!' The snitch veered sharply and Charlie followed it twist for turn. There was no stopping now, no slowing down. Campbell had joined the chase too late, and unless Charlie was taken out of the snitch race there was no way Campbell could edge ahead. He was close enough now, keeping his broom steady in one hand; Charlie reached forwards with his right hand. Fingers outstretched, broom vibrating like crazy beneath him, Charlie mentally pleaded to get that little bit closer, and he did!

'Charlie Weasley catches the snitch for Gryffindor! One hundred and ninety points to thirty! And boy, ladies and gents, was that a tense match. No one would have guessed it would end so suddenly!'

The fine feathered wings of the snitch beat half-heartedly in Charlie's clenched fist as he triumphantly showed off his prize to the crowd. The team surrounded Charlie in a bubble of scarlet and gold.

'Nice one Weasley!' Gwenog cheered, raising his fist in victory once more. Charlie sank back down to ground level with the team, but it took far longer for his mind to get back to normal as he was high on glory for the next few days at least.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Apologies for taking so long to update.<strong>_

_**There's some good news and some bad news - the bad news, I was in hospital for the past week. The good news, I had all that time to exclusively edit and write for this fic.**_

_**You also may have noticed the addition of 3 interval chapter, these are just to fill out the story from other characters' point of view and will be added every 5 chapters.**_

_**Keep on reviewing!**_

_**LittleGuitar94**_


	20. The Quidditch Final

By the time Charlie finally came down from his Quidditch-hero high, exam season had arrived. The gang could be found in the library most days, poring over books and scrolls of parchment. Scabior was now well integrated into their group but still kept mostly to himself.

One such revision filled day of the Easter holidays found Charlie, Tonks, Buck, Don, Annie and Scabior holed up in the library. Their second year exams were only a few weeks away and they were all feeling tense. Charlie had read the same passage about Wendelin the Weird three times but kept being distracted by Don drumming his fingers on the desk. On the fourth attempt he'd had enough.

'Don,' Charlie huffed, crumpling his error-strewn parchment on his fist. 'For Merlin's sake, could you stop with the tapping? It's really off-putting.'

'Finally! It was driving me insane!' Buck exclaimed, slamming his Daily Prophet on the desk. Madam Pince scowled at him.

Don raised his eyebrows, brushing his fringe from his eyes. 'Oh really? What about Tonks morphing her hair every five seconds, does that annoy you too?'

'What?' Tonks jerked out of her daydream with turquoise hair.

'Yeah, it does actually,' Buck retorted.

'As much as Scabior saying "mate" at the end of every sentence?' Charlie added, throwing the ball of parchment in the air, catching it as it dropped.

'I do not!' Scabior insisted.

'You do, mate,' Annie giggled.

'Oh yeah? What about Miss Always-has-to-be-right over here?' Scabior pointed out.

Annie glared. 'There's nothing wrong with being correct.'

'Sure there ain't, mate.' He rolled his eyes.

'Sure there isn't.' Everyone groaned. 'Fine! What about Charlie always throwing and catching stuff?'

Charlie paused, mid-toss of his parchment. 'Hey, I'm a seeker!'

'Where's your broom?' Annie demanded.

Buck coughed, 'Well if you guys don't mind, I'd like to get back to this Charms homework.'

Tonks scoffed, 'Yeah, as if you'd actually do your own work.'

'And what's that supposed to mean?' Buck challenged.

'Just the last essay I let you "look over" happened to be remarkably similar to the next Charms essay you handed in.' Tonks glowered.

'Are you calling me a cheat?' Buck snapped, getting to his feet.

'I guess I am.' Tonks also got to her feet and squared up to Buck, jaw set.

'Fine, you want to take this outside? Let's go.' Buck reached for his wand.

Tonks' wand was already out. 'Like you'd stand a chance against me.'

Charlie had a sudden image of Buck as a bearded slug and decided it was time to calm things down, but before he could say anything Madam Pince had pounced and was already shooing them from the library.

'Wands out, raised voices! I'll not have it!' she squawked as they fled, robes flying behind them. She chased them all the way down the library corridor, charming their bags and books to hit them over their heads as they went, only leaving them when they reached the fourth floor landing.

'Nice one Cooper,' Scabior panted, rubbing the back of his head.

'You're blaming me for that?' Buck flushed angrily. 'It was her fault!' He jabbed a finger at Tonks.

'It was not,' Tonks exclaimed. Scabior nodded in agreement.

'It was both of your faults,' Charlie intervened, stepping into the rather small gap between Tonks and Buck. 'Both of you had your wands out.'

'She called me a cheat!' Buck complained.

'Because you copy everyone's work,' Tonks retorted.

'Hey hey hey!' Charlie spoke over both of them. 'Calm down, both of you. We're all friends here so let's not fight about something as simple as this.'

Tonks stared daggers at Buck who was glaring into the distance a little to Tonks' left. No one said anything.

'I'm not apologising to him.' Tonks told Charlie straight. Buck pulled a face.

'Buck, did you copy Tonks' Charms essay?' Charlie knew Tonks wasn't going to give in; he'd already witnessed how stubborn she could be regardless of the consequences. He also knew that Buck did often copy his work and it bugged him a little bit too.

Buck remained stony for a moment. 'Fine, whatever. Yes, I copied your Charms essay.'

Tonks raised an eyebrow at the blond Gryffindor.

Charlie motioned for him to keep going. Buck huffed. 'And I'm sorry I did it. It won't happen again.'

Tonks cocked her head at Buck. 'Alright then.' She smirked.

Annie breathed a sigh of relief, Charlie hadn't realised that she and Don had been silent throughout the whole argument. 'Now that's all sorted let's go out by the lake, shall we?'

* * *

><p>Charlie stretched out on his robes on the grass beside the lake. He caught the eye of Ellie Limus, a Ravenclaw in his Defence class. His stomach did a weird sort of lurch as she smiled across the grounds at him. She had offered to help him with revision after he had grumbled a bit about not understanding any of the class-work because he was so tired out by Quidditch practice and detentions, now with Professor Sprout. The only thing was, Ellie didn't want him to tell anyone, not even his friends. He thought that was a bit odd, but on the other hand Charlie found himself wanting to spend time with Ellie, away from his friends. He couldn't really put his finger on what it was that made him want to do it. Maybe a bit of privacy? After all, they had been spending almost every day of the last two school years in each others' pockets.<p>

Scabior's drawling voice brought Charlie out of his thoughts, telling Tonks about a possible prank that they could pull off in the next week. As he listened, Charlie made his decision.

He waited behind after Professor Birch's lesson and spoke to Ellie.

'Yes, I'd like you to help me with revision. I-if the offer's still on.'

She beamed at him, brushing her brunette fringe from her eyes. 'Great Charlie! Can you make tonight?'

He shook his head. 'I've got detention with Sprout.'

Ellie thought for a moment. 'Tomorrow? In the library after dinner?'

So Charlie found himself making up reasons to spend time away from his friends. At first, Charlie and Ellie had actually done work. Charlie marvelled at how Ellie could already have her revision notes written out so neatly when his consisted of scraps of parchment and scruffy titles. But as Charlie got back on top of his school work they mostly talked and hung out.

Things grew tense again as they entered May. Quidditch began to take over once more as Slytherin beat Hufflepuff, meaning that Gryffindor needed 210 points in their Ravenclaw match to draw Slytherin for the Quidditch Cup.

A complication arose when Barry Ryan, Gryffindor keeper, came down with an oddly severe case of flu. It was odd because it was now summer and the flu was also accompanied by green pus-filled boils. Foul play was suspected, but no one was caught. Kirley's sister, Meaghan McCormack, had instead taken over as substitute keeper.

'You'll do great,' Ellie told him the week before the match at yet another study session. Charlie blushed furiously as she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and he blushed still every time he thought about it.

'What's up with you?' Buck had asked up in the Gryffindor dormitory, breaking off his conversation about the Australian National Team's win over host-side USA, putting them as favourites for the World Cup. 'You could fry an egg on your face it's so red.'

Charlie shrugged and made a fuss of yawning and going to bed. Buck glanced at Fergus who shrugged back.

It was only nine o'clock.

* * *

><p>Charlie could barely stomach his toast as match day dawned. His legs were jumping up and down and he couldn't sit still. Even Buck looked peaky. After breakfast, Charlie resisted the urge to sprint out of the Great Hall down to the pitch, and instead walked purposefully out of the hall with the rest of the Gryffindor team amidst the cheers and jeers of the rest of the school. Down in the chilly changing rooms everything was tense. Gwenog paced as she delivered her captain's speech.<p>

'Okay team. This is it – the final. We can either go down fighting or we can win the Quidditch Cup for the third year in a row. It doesn't matter if we win or lose this match. What matters is points. Ravenclaw need about 400 points to be in with a chance at that Cup. We only need 220 to win.' She stopped pacing and looked gravely at her team.

'Ryan's out of action, so McCormack, it's up to you. Your job is to get that Quaffle out to the chasers as fast as you can. Save shots where you can, but that's not what's going to win us the Cup.

'You three,' Jones fixed her gaze upon the chasers – Buck, Artie and Jon. 'No pressure but this whole thing is on you. Score when you can, whenever you can. Don't give away penalties that'll just slow down play. We need fast play, fast goal turnover. Tire out their keeper so he makes mistakes. We're relying on our strength and Ravenclaw's weakness to bag this Cup.' She was getting so passionate in her speech that her Welsh accent was becoming more and more prominent, so mich so that Charlie could barely understand what she was saying.

'Joey and I are going to be doing our best to force a change of possession. Whenever they've got the Quaffle we'll be launching a bludger their way. And Charlie,' She turned to point at him. 'Do not catch that Snitch until we're 70 points up at least. If it looks like Williams is going to catch it before we've got the points do whatever you can to stop it – including fouls.'

They heard the crowds cheer as the Ravenclaw team flew onto the pitch. 'Let's go.'

They filed into the tunnel, Charlie flying behind Gwenog this time.

'Mount up!' she called.

Myron's voice boomed. 'LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! HERE TO DEFEND THEIR CLAIM ON THE QUIDDITCH CUP, IN THE RED CORNER, PLEASE WELCOME THE GRYFFINDORS!'

Charlie shot out of the tunnel and into the blazing summer sunlight. The teams lined up above the starting circle and Gwen landed to shake the hand of Andrew Woods, Ravenclaw chaser and captain.

Then the captains were back in the air and the match began.

'Gryffindor take possession as the game begins!' Charlie soared above the pitch as McCormack rocketed back to the goal posts. 'Roberts has the Quaffle! Passes to Cooper, OUCH! Tackled by Griffiths! She passes to Morgan, Dent steals it! To Cooper, back to Roberts! Will Roberts make it past the keeper? NO! Hobday has saved it! He passes it out to Woods, to Morgan, to Griffiths, Cooper goes in for the tackle! She rolls to avoid, but Dent is there! He snatches the Quaffle, to Roberts! To Cooper! Back to Roberts! He shoots, HE SCORES! JON ROBERTS SCORES FOR GRYFFINDOR! IT'S 10-0! Gryffindor only need another 60 points and a Snitch capture to keep their hold on the Quidditch Cup!'

Charlie joined Jon in a celebratory loop of the stadium. Williams, the Ravenclaw seeker, was anxiously scanning the ground. He even looked a bit like an eagle, Charlie noted as he rejoined the other seeker in the sky, with his beaky nose and beady eyes.

'Nice day isn't it?' Charlie commented as Griffiths dodged Roberts to pass the Quaffle to Morgan.

'I'm not talking to you Weasley,' Williams replied stonily. Buck tackled Morgan and passed to Dent.

'INTERCEPTED!' Myron yelled as Woods snatched the Quaffle from the air, just as Roberts reached for it.

'Looks like you just did,' Charlie teased, drifting in front of Williams. Williams forced his broom in the other direction. Charlie flew above him and rolled. 'Not very talkative are you?'

'Griffiths with the long pass to Woods! Roberts with the tackle, tackled in return! Morgan takes the shot – and SCORES! Lovely shot through the right hand hoop!'

That brought the score to an even 10-10. 'Only another 390 points for you to win the Cup,' Charlie counted.

'Bullet pass to Roberts! Cooper, back to Roberts! Griffiths with the steal, Morgan, Woods, unloads AND HE SCORES! Ravenclaw are loving that right hoop today!'

Charlie milled around attempting to make small talk with Williams, enticing him into reacting. 'So how did your exams go last year? Only 9 O.W.L.s? My brother Bill's doing 12. I thought Ravenclaws were meant to be smart.'

No reaction.

Down below Jones launched a bludger attack at Griffiths, forcing her to drop the Quaffle and roll.

'Cooper picks up the Quaffle, quick pass to Roberts, volleys to Dent who kicks it back to Cooper, he shoots HE SCORES!'

It was 20-20. Gryffindor only needed another 50 points before Charlie could go after the Snitch and they would win the Cup.

'Of course it's all hearsay that Ravenclaws are brainy, it's really that you're studying so hard all the time because you don't actually know anything.'

Williams turned his broom sharply towards Charlie and was about to make a (probably rather witty) retort, but then his eyes widened and he leaned forwards on his broom.

'Williams has seen the Snitch!'

Without thinking Charlie swerved to block him, but Williams dived below and rocketed after the Golden Snitch, Charlie hot on his heels. Charlie just needed to block Williams and make him lose sight of the Snitch again until Gryffindor had 70 points.

The Snitch veered right, Charlie banked hard and Williams span out of control to avoid crashing into Charlie.

'He's done it! Young Charlie Weasley has foiled Ravenclaw's attempt at an early end to the game! Gryffindor are still in the running folks!'

The Gryffindor cheers drowned out the Ravenclaw and Slytherin boos and put a smile on Charlie's freckly face.

'That was a foul Weasley!' Williams spat, gaining control of his broom once more.

'Madam Hooch doesn't seem to think so,' Charlie called back over the roaring crowd. Buck was darting down the pitch, Quaffle in hand, as they spoke.

'Hobday saves it again! Oakden Hobday is in good form today!'

'Why do you even want to catch the Snitch?' Charlie asked Williams as he marked him closely.

'I'm a seeker Weasley, that's my job. Even you should know that seeing as it's supposed to be your job too.'

'Oh, clever.' Charlie rolled his eyes. 'I mean why do you want to catch it so soon? You won't win the Cup if you catch it before you're 250 points up.'

'True, but we can stop you winning the Cup.' Williams sneered at the angry look on Charlie's face.

'You'd rather see Slytherin win the Cup?'

'I'd like to see the smug look wiped of your face.'

'OH! Spleen launches a bludger attack! CONTACT! Roberts drops the Quaffle, and it's Ravenclaw in possession!'

Charlie couldn't find words to reply in his outrage that Williams would crush Gryffindor's shot at the Quidditch Cup just to beat Charlie.

'Cooper tackles! Long pass to Dent, is Hobday going to do it again? NO! GRYFFINDOR SCORE! That's 30 points to Gryffindor! If Gryffindor can double that score and get the Snitch they will draw for the Quidditch Cup!'

The two seekers drifted towards the centre of the pitch. A blue and silver streak darted down the pitch.

'Jones with the bludger! Morgan drops the Quaffle and Dent picks it up! Over to Roberts, over to Coop- INTERCEPTED! Griffiths with the pass, to Woods, to Morgan, to Woods with the volley! HE SCORES! McCormack almost got a hand to that one!' The points were equal on 30.

The score was 70-50 to Ravenclaw when Williams next spotted the Snitch. Charlie was marking him so close that the two seekers might as well have been sharing a broom when, suddenly, Williams dived for the ground. Charlie cannoned after him. Williams aimed a kick at Charlie who tried to grab at Williams' foot. Charlie's hand missed but Wiliams' kick connected with his outstretched fingers and Charlie howled in pain. The pair spiralled after the Snitch, Charlie trying to put Williams off once more.

Myron's commentary was lost in the wind that rushed through Charlie's hair. The Snitch was still a good half a metre ahead of Williams' outstretched hand. Charlie urged his broom onwards; if he could get ahead of Williams he could block him but-WHAM!

Out of nowhere a bludger rushed towards Charlie and caught him in the chest. The force of the ball lifted Charlie clean off his broom, all the breath was knocked from his lungs and Charlie's vision went black as he fell to the ground.

The last thing he heard was the wind whipping through his robes, drowning out the gasps of the crowd.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Once again, apologies for the delay - I'm in the middle of revision time so things have been very slow and I only upload when the next chapter is finished, so here you go!<strong>_

_**I can't say when the next upload will be, but just keep reading and it'll get here eventually :)**_

_**Thanks,**_

_**LittleGuitar94**_

_**And here's the usual:**_

_**Thank you to **chelseyb1010**, **NaylaWood **and** withaballoon_ _**for reviewing!**_

_**Thanks to **OrchidOwl_ _**for favouriting! And to **DaRedUmbrella**,** FreakyHPGirl **and** wrightie_ _**for following!**_

_**Thanks to **AStitchedUpHeart**, **TheAngelsarewatching **and **tweeterslove_ _**for favouriting and following!**_


	21. Exams

Charlie felt like he'd been hit by the Hogwarts Express. His head was thumping and his chest was sore, his arms ached and his legs felt heavy. With a groan he opened his blurry eyes. Slowly, the Hospital Wing came into focus. Tonks was sat on a chair beside his bed, feet up, lounging. She raised an eyebrow at him.

'You're in my bed.'

Charlie pushed himself into a half-sitting position and looked around him. Sure enough, he was tucked beneath the crisp white sheets of the third bed from the door – Tonks' usual spot.

Charlie smirked. The skin around his mouth tightened and the region around his eye throbbed. He reached up a bandaged hand to touch it and found the skin to be tender. 'Ow.'

Tonks suddenly jumped up and wrapped her arms around him.

'Owowowowow!'

'Sorry!' She jumped back from him. 'I'm just so relieved you're okay Charlie, we were so worried. I mean you were _knocked off your broom_.'

Charlie remembered why he was in the Hospital Wing. The Snitch chase, trying to stop Williams. The bludger crashing into him, winding him, flying backwards off the tail-end of his broom and tumbling in mid-air, robes whipping in the wind. Then darkness as he passed out.

'What happened?' he croaked, rubbing his sore ribs. Tonks settled onto the side of his bed.

'You were going after Williams and Alderton got you with a bludger. He was in here earlier, Alderton I mean; I don't think he meant for the bludger to hit you that hard. But you were knocked off your broom; no one knew what to do you were just falling so fast. Buck and Joey only just managed to catch you before you hit the ground and that was with McGonagall slowing you down with a spell.'

That explained why Charlie felt so rough.

'What about the match? Did we make the points?'

Tonks covered Charlie's hand with hers. His hopes fell.

'Williams caught the Snitch just after you fell. He didn't even realise you were hit. But Gryffindor missed out on the Cup by twenty points.'

Charlie lay back on the bed, covering his head with his hands. 'It's my fault. If I'd have just rolled out of the way-'

'No.' Tonks forced Charlie's hands away from his head and pinned them to his sides. 'It's not your fault. It's Quidditch. You know as well as I do that that's the way it goes and you can't do anything about it. The Wasps missed out on the League Cup last year, but did they give in and blame themselves? No, they got right back onto training and are favourites for this year. So you stop blaming yourself Charlie Weasley and get yourself better.'

Charlie was struck by how much she sounded like his mother.

'Yes, miss!'

'And none of that cheek,' she grinned, letting go of his hands. 'Bill, Annie, Don and the rest of the team will be back later. Everyone bar Jones was here earlier but Madam Pomfrey sent them down to dinner.'

'You didn't go with them?' Charlie asked.

'She couldn't make me leave.'

Charlie chuckled. 'So where's Gwen?'

Tonks shrugged, 'No idea. No one's seen her since the end of the match. She checked on you and left. We reckon she's gone into the forest to live out her days as a Quidditch-obsessed hermit.'

Charlie's chest ached as he laughed. Tonks looked at him with concern.

'And Scabior?'

'Slytherin party. They've been at it since the end of the match. Dumbledore sent you off to the Hospital Wing with Madam Pomfrey and presented the Slytherins with the Cup.'

'I thought Scabior didn't like the other Slytherins?' Charlie frowned.

Tonks merely shrugged. 'Well unless he's joined Jones in the forest that's where he is.'

* * *

><p>Charlie was let out of the Hospital Wing the next evening. Madam Pomfrey assessed that his ribs were well healed and that the bruises would resolve themselves over time. So, black-eyed and tender, Charlie gathered his <em>get well soon<em> cards and his hamper of home-made sweets from home and set off for Gryffindor Tower.

'Salve,' he told the Fat Lady.

'And you,' the portrait swung forward.

He was met with a barrage of noise. Gryffindor house was wide awake and cheering the return of their seeker. Joey and Jon seized the hamper from Charlie's arms and pulled him through the portrait hole. A massive banner made of a bed sheet read "_Welcome home Charlie!"_ in huge red letters with "_glad you didn't die"_ scrawled underneath.

Charlie found himself being clapped on the back by almost everyone in the House until he reached Annie, Buck and Bill who seemed to be the ringleaders of the entire party.

'Welcome back Charlie!' Annie cried, hurling himself at him. He winced; his ribs were still sore.

Buck clapped him on the back. 'Glad you're okay buddy.'

Bill however, hoisted Charlie onto his shoulder and yelled for attention. The common room obliged and fell quiet, Kirley stopped playing his guitar.

'As some of you may have heard, we didn't win the Quidditch Cup this year!' The Gryffindors booed. Over their heads Charlie spotted Gwenog Jones in the corner, looking glum, a model Quidditch pitch on the table in front of her beside an untouched bottle of Butterbeer.

'But at least our seeker, my little brother Charlie Weasley, is alive and well!' Cheers from the House and heckles from Buck and Fergus. 'And our keeper, who was out of action for the latest match – Barry Ryan has returned ladies and gents!' Ryan bowed in acceptance of his applause. 'That is not to say, however, that our interim keeper, Miss Meaghan McCormack, won't be missed from the Quidditch pitch!'

Kirley jumped onto a sofa, scattering plates of cauldron cakes from laps, almost smacking people over the head with his guitar. 'That's my sister!' He yelled, pointing at a very embarrassed Meaghan.

'Gryffindor House, can I have a round of applause for the Gryffindor team of 1986?' Yes he could. The rest of the house whooped as Bill read out the names of the players. 'Misters Barry Ryan, Jonathan Roberts, Joey Jenkins, Arthur Dent, Buckley Cooper and Charlie Weasley! Miss Meaghan McCormack! Aaand last but by no means least, Miss-Captain Gwenog Jones!'

Joey and Jon jumped over to Gwen and managed to get her to join the rest of the team who had been forced into a line-up in front of the fireplace. Charlie was deposited from Bill's shoulders onto Buck, who nearly fell back into the fire.

'Ladies and gentlemen of Gryffindor House, I present – your team! First place runners up in this year's Quidditch Cup!' Someone thrust a Butterbeer into Charlie's hand. 'We might not have the Cup but we sure as hell can party!'

* * *

><p>The Gryffindor Almost-Won-The-Cup after party quickly gave way to exam season with the O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. exams starting the next day. Charlie, Tonks and Scabior also received owls informing them that they had reached the last week of their detentions.<p>

'Thank goodness for that,' Charlie sighed. 'If I had to spend any more weeks with Binns I'd pop my clogs myself.'

Charlie's latest detention task was erasing graffiti from the History of Magic textbooks. Unsurprisingly, Tonks' mood was much improved since she only had two more hours left with Filch.

'Haha!' She cried as she skipped off to Potions. Charlie headed to Transfiguration.

He knocked on the door of the fourth floor History of Magic classroom at seven o'clock sharp, not that Professor Binns would have known if it was four in the morning or three in the afternoon.

'Come in,' came the wheezing voice of the only spectral teacher at Hogwarts.

'Evening Professor,' Charlie smiled, settling his bag down beside a desk.

'Well Westley, you know what to do.' Binns pointed with his quill to the stack of textbooks and resumed his marking.

Charlie heaved a pile of books over to the desk and grabbed the self-reforming rubber from beside them, setting himself to a further two hours of boredom as he turned page after page looking for graffiti.

About ten minutes into the session the classroom door opened a crack and Ellie Limus poked her head around the corner.

Charlie checked to see if Binns was looking. He wasn't.

'_What are you doing?_' Charlie mouthed at Ellie.

She shrugged. '_I came to join you._'

Charlie scrunched up his eyebrows. '_Why?_'

In reply she slipped through the door and crept towards him, keeping a cautious eye on the translucent teacher at the front of the room, until she reached the desk beside Charlie and took a seat.

'I thought you could do with some company.' She whispered, taking a book from his desk and looking as though she was doing something.

Charlie looked once more at Binns, who seemed not to have noticed the new addition to his detention. In fact, he didn't even look up from his marking for another half an hour, at which point he jumped when he spotted Ellie.

'What are you doing here Miss - ?' He looked to her for her name.

'Limus, sir.' She supplied.

'What are you doing here Miss Limus?'

'I have detention, sir.' Charlie sincerely doubted that Ellie had ever been in detention. Yet Binns seemed to buy it.

'Ah yes, what was it for again?'

'I didn't do my homework, sir.'

Binns nodded as though he remembered. 'Righto, carry on Miss Lupin.' He stood up in the middle of his desk and drifted away through the wall.

Charlie stared after him. 'I can't believe he bought that.'

Ellie smirked innocently, 'I'm a very believable person.'

He laughed. 'I bet that physically pained you to say you'd not done your homework.'

She moved to hit him with _A History of Magic_.

'Watch it! You might hurt the book!' Charlie teased.

'I can leave you know.' She threatened.

'And miss out on all this fun?' He waved his hand towards the pile of books. 'You've got to be joking.'

When the two hours was up, Charlie and Ellie bid Professor Binns a good evening (he was back to marking) and left the classroom. Charlie gave a celebratory 'WHOOP!' and punched the air as they walked towards the Grand Staircase.

'Six months of detentions – done!' Ellie laughed as he celebrated all the way down the corridor.

They said goodbye at the fifth floor, Ellie heading off to Ravenclaw Tower and Charlie continuing up the stairs to Gryffindor Tower. But before they parted, Charlie called her back.

'Hey Ellie, do you think- maybe you'd like to come over my house in the summer?'

Charlie exhaled a deep sigh of relief as her smile widened. 'Yes! Of course! It'll be great to meet your family!' She gave him a tight hug and brushed her lips against his cheek.

Charlie wandered up to the seventh floor feeling rather pleased with himself.

* * *

><p>The knowledge that Ellie wanted to see him during the summer holidays was the only thing that kept Charlie focused on revision as the exams were suddenly upon them.<p>

Charlie scribbled down some scraps of knowledge about the International Warlock Convention of 1289 in the History of Magic exam, transfigured a fluffy bunny rabbit onto some comfortable looking slippers in the Transfiguration exam (though the toe of the slippers did keep twitching), and brewed a Hair-Raising Potion in the Potions exam that shocked his vibrant hair into standing on end in every direction for an hour after he sampled it.

'I thought that went well.' Charlie told the others, satisfied that he had passed all of his exams to progress to his third year at Hogwarts.

'Surprisingly, I'd agree.' Tonks nodded, lying back out in the grounds, using her bag as a pillow.

'Well everything but Transfiguration was alright for me,' Don sighed. 'It was all going well until my slippers jumped off the desk to follow me out.'

They all laughed.

'At least your hair's not still standing on end from that damn potion, I think I overbrewed it.' Buck complained.

Annie looked intently at his head of fluffy blond hair. 'But your hair isn't standing on end.'

'Let's just say the hair's not on my head.' He smirked.

'EW!' Tonks threw a fistful of grass at him. 'Gross!'

Buck gave a shout of laughter at her reaction.

The next week, having all passed their exams, Professor McGonagall went around the house tables handing out the options lists for third year.

'What are you going for?' Fergus asked Charlie, buttering some toast.

'Care of Magical Creatures is a must,' Charlie said, circling the option. 'But other than that I don't know.'

'I heard Professor Kettleburn is a bit mad.' Reg whispered. 'He engorged an Ashwinder once and it burned a hole right through the Great Hall floor.'

'Yeah, that's why Hogwarts doesn't do Christmas Pantomimes anymore.' Bill added, taking a seat opposite Charlie. 'So what options are you choosing?'

Charlie showed him the piece of paper. 'I'm not sure about the other choice.'

'To be honest I don't think you'd like Arithmancy or Ancient Runes,' Bill said thoughtfully. 'So it's either Divination or Muggle Studies.'

When none of the other Gryffindor boys could decide what they wanted to choose, Charlie asked Annie.

'Ancient Runes sounds quite interesting,' she told Charlie seriously, so he went to ask Tonks and Don instead.

'We were going to do Divination and Care of Magical Creatures,' they told him.

'Finally, someone with a decent answer.' Charlie sighed. 'Why don't you want to do Muggle Studies?'

Tonks seemed to find the question hilarious. 'If I wanted to study Muggles I'd go over my grandparents' house. Why would I want to study Muggles in school? Besides, Myron says Divinations easy – you just have to make stuff up if you don't "see" anything.'

Don nodded. 'I already know everything about Muggles, being Muggle-born and all, so what's the point?'

'That's it decided then. Care of Magical Creatures and Divination.' Charlie circled his final option with a flourish and handed his slip in to Professor McGonagall.

'Little Bill!' Myron called, throwing an arm around Charlie's shoulders. 'Morning Professor!' He tipped an imaginary hat to Professor McGonagall who pursed her lips and walked away.

'What Myron?' Charlie grumbled as he was steered back to the Hufflepuff table.

'I just wanted you to know that the band will be doing an End-of-Term concert next week, featuring our new guitarist of course. I've just had confirmation to use the bigger Charms classroom, so spread the word amongst your chums – we want as many people as possible to be there.'

'Will do.' With thanks, Myron released Charlie and took a seat at the breakfast table.

'See you there Charlie!' Myron called after him. 'It's going to be awesome!'

And awesome it was. The largest Charms classroom was packed with students when Myron pranced onto the stage, magical microphone in hand, to introduce the band.

Kirley and Don got some loud cheers from their friends in the crowd and Myron had to wait for them to quieten down before he could introduce their newest band member.

'Colleagues! Some of you may have seen this bushy-haired munchkin wandering around the school. Or not.' The crowd laughed. 'In fact, he was unknown to the three of us until a quite recent Gryffindor party where he happened to stumble upon Kirley's guitar and have a strum.'

Someone yelled 'GRYFFINDOR!' loudly.

'Now, now, I don't want to be throwing you out. Let's just remember that Hufflepuff is the best house.' Myron smirked at the mixture of cheering and booing from the crowd.

'Nevermind that, here he is – your very own, Heathcote Barbary!'

Charlie cheered along with everyone else as the bushy haired first year edged onto the stage, looking extremely pale beneath the mass of ringlets around his head.

Kirley strummed his guitar and the room shook.

'You might remember this one. It's an old favourite. _This is the Night!_'

* * *

><p><em><strong>So I wasn't expecting to upload again before the end of my exams. But this one is written and has passed it's beta-read with flying colours so I just couldn't resist. Never mind that I have an extremely important Chemistry A-Level tomorrow that I should be cramming for.<strong>_

_**I'd just like to say a huge thank you to **Marissa Lupin, EchoSparks **and** HelenThong _**_for favouriting this story! _**

**_And to_ **_EchoSparks **and **comfychairs **for following this story, and to**__EchoSparks **once again for reviewing!**_

_**I won't promise when the next chapter will be up, but keep reviewing and I'll get the motivation to complete the next chapter for you.  
>C'mon, 34 of you have favourited this - keep up the response!<strong>_

_**LittleGuitar94**_

_**:)**_


	22. Curses and Badges

Charlie was seated between Buck and Annie at the Gryffindor table. It was the last day of term and the hall was decked out in scarlet and gold.

'As it should be,' Bill nodded with approval upon seeing the décor. The hall quietened as Professor Dumbledore stood up.

'Another year is ended,' he told the hall. 'And so the House Cup needs awarding.'

Charlie shared a grin with Buck – Gryffindor had won two years in a row.

'In fourth place, with 463 points, Ravenclaw!' The other three houses politely applauded the glum-faced Ravenclaws. Charlie saw Ellie comforting Lucy halfway down the table.

'And just ahead in third place, with 471 points, Hufflepuff!' More polite applause. Tonks and Don shrugged at the score.

'Yeah Hufflepuff!' Myron hollered.

'In second place, and winners of the Quidditch Cup, with 551 points - Slytherin!' The table on the far right cheered loudly. Charlie was slightly repulsed by the faces of Rowle and Gibbon as they celebrated.

But then he forced his eyes away from them as Dumbledore started speaking again.

'Which means...' Charlie waited, tense, for the headmaster's announcement. 'With 604 points, the winner of the 1985 House Cup is GRYFFINDOR!'

Charlie didn't even care how stupid he looked as he and the rest of his house table jumped up and down, yelling and cheering at their achievement.

The following day Charlie hurriedly crammed all his clothes into his trunk as he, Buck, Reg and Fergus packed for the return journey to London.

Down outside by the castle gates, the four boys waited for one of the horseless carriages. Professor McGonagall handed them a slip of parchment warning them not to do magic over the summer.

'Do you think if they forgot to give us one we'd be able to do magic outside school?' Reg wondered.

'Doubt it.' Fergus sighed. 'Come on, that one's free.'

They all heaved their trunks in and piled into the carriage, waiting for it to magically move away once they were all seated.

Once the carriage had deposited them at Hogsmeade Station and moved horselessly away once more, the Gryffindor boys split up. Buck and Charlie headed off to find Tonks, Don and Annie, who were far more organised and had probably been on the train ready to go for the past half an hour.

Sure enough the three of them were in a compartment, Scabior was there too.

'How do you think Filch gets all the trunks from the train to the school at the start of term?' Don wondered, watching four first years attempt to get a trunk onto the train.

'Magic, obviously.' Charlie shrugged. A fifth year helped the first years with their struggle.

'But have you ever seen Filch do magic?' Tonks asked him. 'I mean, he's forever going on about having to clean floors and stuff, but if he used magic then they'd be easily sorted.'

'Maybe he's a squib.' Scabior suggested.

'A what?' Annie and Don asked.

'A wizard that doesn't have magic.' Buck explained. 'Like the opposite of a muggle-born.'

'That can happen?' Annie looked surprised. 'That must be awful.'

'It would explain why Filch is so bitter all the time.' Tonks growled. 'I still don't think my arm's recovered after all that polishing.'

Overhead the train whistled and the engines started to chug. They were on their way back to London once more.

* * *

><p>'Charlie!' twin eight year olds Fred and George squealed as they saw their older brother disembarking the Hogwarts Express.<p>

Charlie led the way to the Weasley clan, where Tonks', Buck's, Annie's and Don's families were also gathered. Scabior parted ways with them to find his own parents.

As soon as he had gone Charlie got the other four in a huddle. 'I'll ask my parents if you guys can come over again this holiday.'

They nodded. But Tonks looked over at Scabior. 'What about Will?'

'Ummm... He's busy.' Charlie lied. 'Come on, I'll ask Mum now.'

Charlie pretended to ignore the pointed look that Annie was giving him and made a bee-line for the mass of bright ginger hair that was his family.

'Oh Charlie!' Molly cried, wrapping her son in a massive hug. 'There's Bill!'

Bill dragged his trunk over and deposited it on the trolley that Arthur had supplied. He ruffled Ron's hair and pulled Ginny up onto his shoulders for a piggy-back.

'Say goodbye to your friends now, we're off.' Arthur told Bill and Charlie as he led the way off the platform with the trunk laden trolley. Molly, Percy, Fred, George and Ron followed.

Bill waved goodbye to his friends, Ginny on his shoulders doing the same. Charlie promised Annie that he would write and said bye to Tonks and Don. Buck and his parents had vanished as soon as Connor had joined them.

Charlie waved again as he passed through the barrier between Platform 9 3/4s and the Muggle world. He caught a glimpse of Ellie and her parents not too far away.

* * *

><p>It was a few weeks later when Charlie was down in the kitchen of the Burrow with Percy and Ron, helping their mother with a few chores around the house after breakfast. Well, Charlie and Percy were helping. Ron was attempting to help.<p>

Outside the window they heard a squawk and a thud. A moment later Bill came in from the garden with a ruffled looking Errol in one hand, a thick wad of letters in the other, and a package under his arm.

'No wonder Errol crash landed,' Bill said, depositing the shattered looking bird on his perch, 'Pedro sent me something.'

Pedro was Bill's penfriend in Brazil. He had asked Bill to go and stay with them that summer, but as the Weasley's didn't have a lot of money they couldn't pay for Bill to go.

'I guess he must be alright with you not going to stay then.' Charlie commented, finishing off a bit of Ron's left over toast crust.

Bill slid a slightly thicker than usual Hogwarts letter over to Charlie. Percy looked up hopefully despite having another year to wait until he received his first Hogwarts letter.

'It's a hat!' Bill exclaimed, opening the parcel first. He pulled out a sleek velvet wizard's hat and tried it on. 'Hey Mum, look at my hat!'

Bill grinned and posed with the hat that covered his ears. 'It's a bit itchy.' He added.

'Lovely dear,' Molly smiled. 'What did he say about you not going to stay there? Is he okay with it?'

Bill turned his attention to the letter from Pedro while Charlie read through an additional slip of parchment with his standard book list. Ron tried to grab at the letter.

'Mum, can you sign this Hogsmeade permission form please?'

Molly fetched a quill. Bill unfolded the letter from Brazil, it was written in poorly worded English as Pedro was trying to learn English through his letters to Bill.

'"Hello Scumbag" Uh-oh, I don't like the sound of that. "So you do not want to come to my country when we speak for months. I hope your toes are fed to a hungry Chimera. Enjoy my gift. May it curse your ears off. Pedro."' Bill yanked the hat off his head and ran to the mirror.

Charlie burst out laughing, Percy gasped, Ron yelled (why not?) and Molly screeched.

'BILL YOUR EARS!'

Bill, however, was calling Pedro every name under the sun as he stared at the shrivelled ears of his reflection.

'Watch your language William Weasley!' Molly warned, whipping out her wand and forcing Bill to sit back down so she could fix his ears. Ron carried on yelling until Percy shushed him.

Bill's ears were raw and furiously red, the same colour as the rest of his face. But his ear lobes and the tops of his ears were crumpled and withered like a drying out plant.

As Molly consulted one of the vast volumes of books on their shelf, Bill opened his own Hogwarts letter. A small red badge fell out of the envelope.

Bill and Charlie stared at it.

'A prefect?' Bill said incredulously, holding up the scarlet badge to eye level.

'Oh Bill! That's the first prefect in the family!' Molly was back at her son's side, ears forgotten, congratulating him and promising anything he wanted as a present.

'Well done Bill.' Percy said quietly. Ron made a grab for the badge in Bill's hand.

'Um, well to be honest I'd really like my ears to be back to normal.' He reminded his mother. Molly happily resumed searching for a counter-curse for him.

Charlie sniggered. 'That badge matches your ears.'

Bill pushed Charlie off his chair.

'Bill!' Molly scolded. 'What sort of example does that set to your brothers?'

Percy huffed and Ron laughed at Charlie on the floor.

'Watch it prefect!' Charlie cackled from the floor. 'I'll have your badge for that.'

Charlie could see that Bill was tempted to throw the badge at him, but opted for an apple from the fruit bowl instead. Charlie caught it and took a bite as Molly started trying to restore Bill's ears.

'I'll have your father deal with that hat.' She muttered, tapping Bill's left ear lobe with the tip of her wand.

Charlie was still chuckling from across the table.

* * *

><p>Days later it was time for Charlie's friends to arrive at the Burrow.<p>

'Charlie! Someone's here!' Molly chimed.

Charlie tore through the house to look through the window in the kitchen.

'Merlin's pants! It's Ellie! I'm not ready! You'll have to stall them.' Charlie sprinted for the stairs, taking them three at a time in his hurry.

Molly was left staring stunned after her son. Bill wandered in from the garden where he and Charlie had been de-gnoming.

'Bill dear, who's Ellie?' Molly asked.

Bill shrugged. 'Some girl in Charlie's year, I guess. I think he said something about her helping him study.'

Molly's eyes narrowed at the father and daughter making their way towards the Burrow.

'Is Tonks here yet?' Bill inquired, picking an apple from the bowl on the table and taking a bite.

'No, not yet dear,' came the preoccupied reply. 'Go and hurry your brother up would you? And check on Percy, I haven't heard from him in a while.'

Bill chuckled. 'A galleon on the twins having tied him up.' He ruffled Ron's hair as he passed his little brother at the table.

Molly headed out to greet their visitors, herding chickens from the path as she did so.

Charlie had just had the quickest wash of his life and was hurriedly buttoning up a clean light blue shirt when Bill knocked on his door.

'So who's your girlfriend?' Bill smirked, settling himself on the corner of Charlie's bed.

'Shut up.'

That made Bill grin even more. 'How come I haven't heard about her before?'

'You have heard about her.' Charlie retorted, rooting around in the bottom of his wardrobe for a bottle of cologne that Aunt Muriel had accidentally given him for Christmas a few years back. Apparently cousin Lancelot had received some levitating bubblebath instead. 'She helped me study.'

'Yeah, but I haven't heard of her, if you know what I mean.' Bill winked.

Charlie ignored him.

'So who else is coming over?'

'Got it!' Charlie triumphantly held the bottle aloft before dousing himself with it.

'Woah Charlie! Steady on, you'll knock her out with that.' Bill coughed and waved his hand in front of his face to waft away the overpowering smell of cologne.

'Is it too much?' Charlie just wanted to look nice for Ellie and make a good impression with her Dad. They heard the front door open and close.

Molly called up the stairs. 'Charlie, Ellie's here!'

'It'll be fine Charlie, just don't stand too close to anyone,' Bill teased, his voice muffled by the t-shirt he was covering his mouth and nose with.

'Okay, I think I'm ready.' Charlie ran a wet comb through his almost shoulder length red hair and made to leave his room. He was stopped by Bill's hand on his shoulder.

'Hold on brother, you didn't answer my question. Who else is coming over?'

Charlie's ears flushed red and he shifted uncomfortably. 'Just Ellie and Tonks.'

Bill stared for a moment, sighed deeply and let go of his younger brother's shoulder. 'Well this week is going to be fun.'

Charlie pushed past Bill and headed down to greet Ellie. Bill went upstairs to check on Percy and the twins.

Downstairs, Molly was having a rather polite but strained conversation with Ellie's Dad.

'Ah, here he is.' She interrupted Mr Limus' talk about Gringotts' exchange rates when she heard Charlie's footsteps on the stairs.

'Hi Ellie,' Charlie managed, walking over to the table.

'Hi Charlie,' she beamed back.

'Why don't you go show Ellie where she can put her bags, Charlie?' Molly suggested.

Ellie kissed her Dad on the cheek, 'Bye Daddy!' she said sweetly, following Charlie from the room.

Mr Limus watched the two as they ascended the stairs.

'Um, you and Tonks are staying in Bill's room on the third floor.' Charlie started by way of conversation.

'Tonks is coming too?' Ellie seemed surprised.

'Yeah, is that alright?'

'Sure,' Ellie smiled again. 'So where's your room?'

'First floor, I'll show you when we go back downstairs.' Charlie offered. They reached the third floor landing and Charlie opened the door to Bill's room for Ellie.

'You can leave your bag here, then we can go check out the garden and the Quidditch paddock if you want?'

Ellie deposited her bag on the bed and looked around the room. Bill poked his head through the door.

'Aha! So this is the mysterious Ellie. Pleasure to meet you.' He would have gone to shake her hand but he had a twin on each arm trying to pull him to the floor.

'Hi Ellie!' They chorused. 'Come on Bill!'

Bill grimaced. 'I'd best be off, or these two won't be happy.' He nodded goodbye and was dragged away by Fred and George. At eight years old they were both rather strong and increasingly more mischievous.

'Come on Bill!' They urged again.

'So, aren't you going to show me the garden?' Ellie asked, cocking her head to the side as she looked up at Charlie.

At that moment, Molly called up from the kitchen. 'Charlie! Tonks is here!'

Downstairs, Molly and Ted were sat at the table talking, while Bill and Tonks were leaned against the kitchen counters.

'Hey Charlie!' Tonks waved, her hair its usual fuschia, her eyebrows raising a fraction when she saw Ellie behind him. 'Hey Ellie!'

'Hi Tonks,' Ellie replied sweetly.

'I was just going to show Ellie the garden, do you want to come?' Charlie asked Tonks.

'Uh sure, why not? Are you coming too Bill?'

'How could I refuse a trip to the garden?' Bill grinned.

'How's your holiday been so far?' Charlie asked Tonks as they headed out of the house. He ignored his mother's keen glance as the four of them walked past her.

'A bit boring to be honest, but that's not the real question here. The real question is what in Merlin's name are you wearing?' Tonks asked, scrutinising Charlie's shirt and trousers that weren't his usual summer attire. 'And what is that smell?'

Behind them Bill snickered.

Molly stuck her head out of the door and called to Charlie. 'Who else are we waiting for?'

'No one, it's just Tonks and Ellie.' Bill replied.

Molly shot a quick look at Charlie, whose ears flushed red.

'Annie and Don are skiing, and Buck's at the World Cup.' Charlie explained.

Molly sighed. 'Well if that's everyone I'll get started on the dinner. We'll eat outside tonight. Charlie, a word inside.' Molly said, heading back into the house. Charlie left Ellie and Tonks out in the garden with Bill.

'Yes Mum?'

Molly set her wand to peeling potatoes and looked sternly over at her second son. 'Don't you think it's a bit unwise to invite two girls over, dear?'

Charlie shook his head. 'No, why?'

Molly sighed. 'You obviously like this Ellie girl. Don't you think Tonks might get a bit left out if you and Ellie are getting friendly?'

'Ew, Mum!' Charlie recoiled, more to get his Mum off his back than anything. 'No one will be getting friendly! And why would Tonks be left out? She's my best friend.'

Molly shook her head and turned back to her potatoes, muttering, 'out of six boys please let me have one who understands how the female mind works.'

Charlie left his mother to her crazy female ramblings and headed back out into the garden.

'What was that about?' Bill asked when Charlie returned.

Charlie shrugged. 'Nothing. Let's go to the Quidditch paddock.'

But Molly's words bugged Charlie for the rest of the day.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Thanks to <strong>MoonDance721 **and **September And Summer_ _**for following and favouriting, and to **emmettcullenlover7_ **for favouriting, and to **_September And Summer **(again) for reviewing!**_

_**Second year is almost over folks, just another two chapters! **_

_**Don't forget to PM me, or review, if you've got anything you'd like to see happening in third year or above :)**_

_**LittleGuitar94**_


	23. The Burrow

'Do you like Quidditch Ellie?' Bill asked as the four of them trekked up the hill to the Weasley's Quidditch paddock.

'I guess it's alright,' Ellie shrugged.

'Alright?' Tonks cried, 'it's the best game in the world! Right Charlie?'

'Yeah it is,' Charlie already knew that Ellie wasn't a massive sports fan.

'How can you not like Quidditch?' Tonks continued.

Ellie shrugged again. 'I just don't really see the appeal of a dozen people on brooms throwing a ball around.'

'Actually there's fourteen people.' Tonks corrected.

'And four balls.' Bill added.

Ellie shook her head.

'So I assume you don't want to play a game of Quidditch with us.' Bill ventured.

'We do!' Charlie flattened himself against the paddock gate as Fred and George came flying past on brooms.

'C'mon Ellie, two teams of six - what do you say?'

'No, I think I'll sit this one out, if you don't mind.'

'I'll sit out too,' Charlie announced, not wanting Ellie to feel left out.

'No way! You always play Quidditch!' Tonks gasped.

'Exactly. I've got all summer to play Quidditch, but Ellie's not seen all of the house yet and she's only here for a week.'

Bill and Tonks stared. Behind them, Fred and George zoomed around an apple tree pelting each other with fruit.

'Uh, alright then.' Bill managed after a pause. 'We'll just stay here and have a game, okay?'

'See you in a bit!' Charlie waved as he and Ellie walked back down the grassy path from the paddock.

'Thanks Charlie,' Ellie smiled, walking close to him despite the wide path.

'For what?' Charlie could feel his ears burning and it was nothing to do with the late-July sunlight at his back.

'For not leaving me on the side-lines like a lemon. I know how much you love playing Quidditch.'

He shrugged nonchalantly. 'Like I said, I've got loads of time to play Quidditch. You're not here for long, so we might as well make the most of it.'

'Let's start now then.' Ellie cast a sideways glance at Charlie, before reaching over to take his hand. Charlie's stomach lurched at the contact.

He stammered nervously. 'So where do you want to see first?'

* * *

><p>'Dinner's ready!' Molly called.<p>

Charlie and Ellie came down the stairs with Ginny, from where Charlie had been showing Ellie the numerous floors of the Burrow. Percy joined them a few moments later, a book in hand.

'Percy dear, could you go and fetch Bill and the others from the paddock?' Molly asked, bustling about the kitchen. 'Then Charlie, could you and Bill move the tables outside? Oh, and we'll be needing eleven sets of cutlery Charlie, if you could get those out. Thanks love.'

'Is there anything I can do to help Mrs Weasley?' Ellie asked.

'Oh no dear, you just sit yourself down. That's just great.' Molly steered Ellie into a seat and started ladling out vegetables into dishes.

Charlie soon returned with Bill, Tonks, Fred and George. Once the tables were set up outside in the garden and their plates were filled with Molly's cooking, they all dug in.

'Where's Father tonight Mum?' Percy asked, carefully chewing on a slice of beef.

'He's probably been delayed again, dear. I'm sure he'll be home soon.' And as she finished speaking they heard the tell-tale opening and closing of the front door.

'We're in the garden Arthur!' Molly called.

'Evening Weasleys!' Arthur called, but he didn't sound like his usual cheerful self.

'What's wrong Dad?' George asked, when Arthur joined them at the table.

Arthur sighed. 'There was a nasty incident today at work: a cursed jumper killed a man.'

Ellie gasped. 'Who cursed it?'

Arthur shrugged and retrieved a copy of the Evening Prophet from his bag. 'We haven't managed to track them down yet, but there's a request for information in the article.' Arthur handed Charlie the paper, allowing both Ellie and Charlie to read the article.

'It was Professor Birch!' Charlie exclaimed.

What!' Charlie passed the paper over to Bill and Tonks.

'One of your teachers?' Arthur questioned, chewing thoughtfully on his meal.

'He taught Defence Against the Dark Arts.' Charlie explained. 'He always wore colourful jumpers to lessons.'

'I really liked his lessons.' Tonks murmured, scanning through the rest of the article.

Dinner was rather subdued after that.

* * *

><p>Before Charlie knew it the week had passed and it was time for Ellie and Tonks to say goodbye.<p>

Ted arrived via Floo Powder to pick up Tonks, and with a hug and a rather worried wave she vanished into the shockingly green flames. Charlie wondered why she looked so uneasy, admittedly he hadn't spent a lot of time with her that week because he'd been with Ellie. But then Ellie's Dad apparated outside the front gate and Charlie thought no more about it.

Charlie walked Ellie out to the gate, past Ron who was playing with his pet puffskein that Charlie had found for him in the garden. Ellie hugged Charlie goodbye and gave him a quick kiss, telling him she'll see him at Hogwarts. Charlie had asked Ellie out halfway through the week and, thankfully, she had said yes. Charlie was still getting used to Ellie being his girlfriend.

With a loud crack Ellie's father disapparated, taking Ellie with him.

'Charlie!' Molly called from the house. 'Don't forget you need to do all your chores before you listen to the World Cup this afternoon!'

With a grumble, Charlie slouched back into the house.

After cleaning out the chicken coop, tidying his room, helping his Mum with the cooking, and folding washing, Charlie was sat in the living room eagerly awaiting the start of the Quidditch World Cup. All the Weasleys but Molly (who had gone to visit a friend during the match) were seated with an assortment of snacks, listening to the wireless.

There was a burst of static and American Quidditch commentator Speeler Macken's loud and booming voice echoed around the room.

'Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the four hundred and twentieth Quidditch World Cup here in Atlanta! This is the one we've all been waiting for! The final - between Australia and Germany!'

The Weasleys cheered for Australia. Fred and George hopped around like kangaroos.

'And now, please welcome... the Australian National Team Mascots!'

Over the radio they heard a massive roar of sound, presumably the cheers of the Australian supporters. Then the weirdest sound Charlie had ever heard overpowered the voices of the crowd.

'What is that?' Fred asked Arthur, halting his kangaroo hopping. It was an odd, low, droning sound, that seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at once. As he listened it made Charlie feel a little bit sleepy.

'It's a didgeridoo,' Arthur yawned. 'What I wouldn't give to see what's going on there now.'

'Why? What is it?' Percy questioned, his eyelids fluttering as he struggled to stay awake.

'Traditionally, the Australian Team mascots are Aboriginal wizards who use their native branch of magic to create images and stir emotions through their music.'

The gasps of the crowd reinforced Arthur's statement.

'But what are they seeing?' Bill wanted to know. As if in answer to his question a new voice came on the wireless.

'For those of you listening from other countries, this is the Australian Team mascots' famed routine. On the sidelines of the pitch are a dozen Aboriginal elders, each with a didgeridoo. Together their magic is telling a tale to the entire stadium. The tale is from the Australian Dreamtime and tells us of the Rainbow Serpent sleeping below the ground until the time of creation.' The tempo of the music increased. 'Then the Serpent awoke and pushed its way to the surface, creating mountains and gorges as it did so.'

Charlie became engrossed in the telling of the tale and the music that accompanied it that when the music faded he longed to hear it again.

'And now... please try to keep yourselves in your seats,' Speeler Macken was back. 'It's the German National Team Mascot!'

'They've only got one mascot?' George noticed. A jaunty tune started playing, the complete opposite of the calming drone of the Australian Mascots' music, and Charlie felt the urge to start stamping his feet and hopping about.

'Ah, the Germans have brought back the old favourite - the Pied Piper of Hamelin.' They were informed.

'Uh oh,' Arthur sighed, hurriedlly leaving the room. 'I'll go and get the earplugs.'

'Why do we need earplugs Dad?' Charlie called.

Ginny and Ron started tapping their little feet on the floor. Fred and George started to murmur the pipe tune and soon escalated into full on yodelling.

'That's why we need earplugs!' Arthur announced, returning to the room to find his children hopping and stamping and yodelling around the room. He stuffed cotton wool into each of their ears. Charlie found the urge to dance much decreased.

'What was that?' He asked loudly.

The wireless answered. 'The Pied Piper's tune has a similar effect to the Aboriginal elders' music, but instead of showing images this waltz urges the listener to get up and join in. This has a particular effect in children. Oh no, my foot's started tapping.' The speaker sighed. 'Roger! Get me stronger ear plugs!'

'Oh! What is going on!' Macken cried, interrupting the second commentator. 'The Piper's music has got the Australian Mascots waltzing on the side-lines!' The Australian crowd yodelled angrily over the wireless. 'And they are furious!'

The piping stopped and Charlie cautiously removed the cotton wool from his ears.

'And now - please welcome... The Australian National Quidditch Team! Echunga! Monteith! Hastings! Whakkaarangapawarau! Meadows! Nuhaka! And Karoonda!'

The Weasleys cheered once again, and a rather more upbeat didgeridoo chorus began.

'And their rivals! Todt! Blijk! Brand! von Glockenspieler! Eldritch! Wiel! And Weiss!'

The crowd cheered to the tune of the Pied Piper's pipe.

'Please show your support for our referee - all the way from Brazil - Chairwizard of the South American Confederation of Quidditch Referees, Matheus Carvalho!'

There was a pause, Charlie knew that the two captains were shaking hands and taking to the air once more, and the crate of Quidditch balls was waiting to be opened in the centre of the pitch.

'Carvalho puts the whistle to his lips and - THEY'RE OFF! Todt, Brand, Blijk, Hastings, Monteith, Echunga, back to Monteith!'

This was Quidditch at its highest level and Charlie's head was spinning just listening to the commentary. He wished that he was as good as those players, and that the Hogwarts games were as high a quality as he was hearing on the radio.

* * *

><p>Charlie woke up a few days later from a dream of playing Quidditch for England, still pleased by Australia's astounding World Cup win, to find a letter waiting for him at the breakfast table.<p>

_Dear Charlie,_

_I hope you had a great week with Tonks, sorry again that I couldn't make it. Don and I have just got home from France. It was amazing and I learnt a great deal about French Wizards! Did you know there's a school of wizardry in France too? Skiing was fun too, you should really try it._

_I don't know if you've already got your Hogwarts stuff, but we will be going to Diagon Alley on the 15th. Owl me back if you can make it, I've owled Tonks too._

_Can't wait to see you,_

_Annie_

_xxx_

_P.S. I'm so excited about going to Hogsmeade this year!_

_P.P.S. We listened to the World Cup in a restaurant in France - I bet Buck had an amazing time there. Don is so jealous. I think he's going to start saving up to go to Australia for the next World Cup already._

Smiling to himself, Charlie folded up the parchment letter and set about replying. As he watched Errol swoop unsteadily out of the window, letter in beak, Charlie hoped that the unreliable owl would actually make it to Annie's house in one piece.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Thanks to <strong>chelseyb1010**, **WinterRainbow **and** September And Summer_ _**for reviewing!**_

_**Thanks to **WinterRainbow **and **Little livi_ _**for favouriting, and again to **__Little livi **for following!**_


	24. Author's Note - PLEASE DON'T IGNORE

_**Hi! So this isn't exactly an update (well it could be) it's more of a way of gauging your opinion on how I should proceed with this fic.**_

_**Is it just me or is the story getting a bit old? A bit slow? A bit not-much-happening? Well that's what I feel when I'm writing it at least.**_

_**So last night, in a flu-induced brainwave, I decided to revamp the first chapter with a new style.**_

_**Essentially, Charlie has just arrived in Romania and his Hogwarts days are told through a series of flashbacks. This way I can cut out all the filler pieces that slow the pace down and keep the juicy bits that we all want to see. Sadly a fair bit will go, but if it's central to the plot then it'll stay.**_

_**Also I was a bit concerned that the only place I could break the fic into parts was when I reached chapter 60. That seemed a bit excessive to me. And if I stick with this new style then the story coincides with Harry's! Yay!**_

_**Anyway, first I need your reaction.**_

_**Apologies for the format, I really don't like Wattpad, but until I decide whether to go ahead with this or not that's where the first chapter will stay.**_

**_link over at_** wattpad dot com /12821925-back-to-the-start

_**Thanks very much :)**_

_** A rather ill LittleGuitar94**_

_**P.S. Also if there's anything you've particularly enjoyed so far and want to stay in then add it in a review and I'll do my best. If it's Quidditch and Charlie's not playing I'm afraid I might not be able to keep it, but as far as I know I'll be keeping this existing format for when I carry on with my Tonks fic (Violet Coloured Courage)**_


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